What is kuru?

Kuru is a rare and fatal nervous system disease. Its highest prevalence occurred during the 1950s and 1960s among the Fore people in the highlands of New Guinea. The Fore people contracted the disease by performing cannibalism on corpses during funeral rituals.

The name kuru means “to shiver” or “trembling in fear.” The symptoms of the disease include muscle twitching and loss of coordination. https://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2008/08/11/the-shaking-death-cjd-epidemic