Does Cannibalism Have Implications On Health?

Laughing Sickness

The Fore people are the only population to ever be hit by an epidemic of kuru and it reached an all-time high in the 1950s. The women belonging to the Fore tribe were dying at an alarming rate and even some of their nearest neighbors were affected. The word “kuru” in Fore language means “to shake.” Kuru aka “laughing sickness” causes a pathologic burst of laughter in the affected people.