Can cannibalism lead to disease resistance? (2018)

The Fore tribe in Papua New Guinea has a long history of ritualistic cannibalism, resulting in a crippling outbreak of a degenerative brain disease called Kuru in the 1950’s. The epidemic devestated the tribe, but some survivors of the Kuru epidemic are now found to show signs of evolved Kuru resistance and possibly other degenerative neurological diseases. When researchers began to look into the pattern of Kuru in the Fore tribe, they realized some families at the very center of the Kuru epidemic never developed this disease.

Source: blogs.agu.org