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Such diseases are different.

Prions are not even at virus-level of livingness. Like a propogating hardware bug. Or like Vonnegut's ice-nine.

I find it interesting that at least the three I am aware of: scrapie, BSE and kirii - maybe others too - are all associated with cannibalism. In sheep, cows and humans respectively.

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Kirii? I don't mean to be pedantic, but do you mean kuru-kuru? Or is there another prion disease out there I'll be having nightmares about?

Thanks. You are right. I misremembered the name.

Shame on me since I actually once met an old woman in Papua New Guinea who had participated in funerary cannibalism as a young girl. She had had no ill-effects though.

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