Tensions in the Field
The Politics of Researching Kuru in New Guinea
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2156264 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Annette Beasley (0000-0001-9571-7626, Schlumberger (Ireland), corresponding author), Annette Noble Beasley |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 63-89 |
| Publication date | 2012-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History and Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0275-7206 • E-ISSN: 1477-2612 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02757206.2012.649274 |
| OpenAlex | W2082315022 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
This paper explores the politics of field research affecting the investigation of an unknown fatal disease (kuru) that afflicted the Fore people of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. From its outset in 1957, the kuru inquiry was characterized by professional rivalries and political manoeuvring. At the centre of the political jostling was the chauvinistic resentment of Australian scientists over the presence and activities of an American researcher, Carleton Gajdusek. Increasing tensions prompted the regulation of kuru research through the appointment in 1963 of a New Zealand neurologist, Richard Hornabrook, as the Chief Clinical Investigator. Against the background of earlier tensions, the paper examines the relationship between Gajdusek and Hornabrook as an illustration of the politics of research. Keywords: Research PoliticsField WorkKuruNew Guinea Acknowledgements I am indebted to Richard and Fay Hornabrook and members of their family for their encouragement and cooperation. The tremendous effort of Susan Gandi and her team (at the Information and Communications Unit, Papua New Guinea IMR, Goroka) in scanning and delivering an enormous volume of previously unavailable archival material is greatly appreciated. A research grant from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington assisted with the archival expenses. Finally, the support of my husband (Andrew), involving numerous discussions and editorial constructive suggestions while writing this paper, was invaluable. Notes With the last death from kuru recorded in 2003, scientists are increasingly confident that the epidemic is over (see Collinge & Alpers 2008 Collinge, J. and Alpers, M. P. 2008. Introduction. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 363(1510): 3607–3612. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]: 3609). The issue of personal closeness with an informant or biographic subject is complex and can be fraught. Söderqvist (2003 Söderqvist, T. 2003. Science as Autobiography. The Troubled Life of Niels Jerne, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]: xxi), for example, describes his emotional ties with Nobel Laureate, Jerne, as ranging from admiration and sympathy to repugnance and irritation. He admits that after a session with Chicago psychoanalyst George Moraitis, "who specializes in working with biographers", he achieved release and eventual detachment. "In short, I allowed myself not to like Jerne." These patrols, conducted on foot around a regular circuit of villages with a great show of power and authority, were designed to establish and consolidate administrative authority. Villagers were required to assemble in silence for a census count and while other issues such as law and order, health and hygiene were addressed. Kiap is a pidgin term derived from the word captain (Nelson 1982: 33) and usually refers to government officials, such as patrol and police officers. No records of kuru mortality are available prior to 1957. The highest death rate of 25 deaths per 1000 was recorded among the South Fore between 1957 and 1960, when the estimated life at birth for a South Fore woman was around twenty years of age (McArthur 1964 McArthur, N. 1964. The age of incidence of kuru. Annals of Human Genetics, 27(4): 341–352. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]: 349). A decline in the kuru death rate was first recorded in 1962 (Alpers 1965 Alpers, M. 1965. "Epidemiological Changes in Kuru, 1957 to 1963". In Slow, Latent and Temperate Virus Infections, Edited by: Gajdusek, D. C., Gibbs, J. Jr. and Alpers, M. 65–84. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. [Google Scholar], 1966 Alpers, M. 1966. "Kuru". In A Manual of Tropical Medicine, 4, Edited by: Hunter, G. W., Frye, W. W. and Swartwelder, J. C. 646–650. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders. [Google Scholar]). Fenner (1987 Franklin, S. (1995), "Science as culture, cultures of science", Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 24, pp. 163–184. [Google Scholar]: 101) describes Burnet as "the greatest biologist that Australia has produced". In 1960, Burnet was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his discovery of immunological tolerance (Burnet 1968 Burnet, F. M. 1968. Changing Patterns. An Atypical Biography, Melbourne: Heineman. [Google Scholar]: 266). As President of the Australian Academy of Science (1965–1969), Burnet became "in one sense the official spokesman for science in Australia" (Fenner 1987 Franklin, S. (1995), "Science as culture, cultures of science", Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 24, pp. 163–184. [Google Scholar]: 145). Gajdusek was deeply influenced by his entomologist, maternal Aunt. "She made my child's curiosity into a game of investigation, and had me doing experiments just after I was a toddler" (Gajdusek 1994 Gajdusek, D. C. 1994. Early inspiration. Creativity Research Journal, 7(3&4): 342–349. [Google Scholar]: 341). As a United Nations Mandated Territory, the administration lacked the authority to prevent non-Australian researchers from entering the country. The Administrator was the most senior Australian governing official in the territory. Unresolved difficulties included concern that the prevalence of the disease was inconsistent with a genetic basis and criticisms of "poorly presented", "incomplete data" (see Robson et al. 1960 Robson, N., Sunderland, S. & J. G. Eecles (1960), "Report on the kuru disease", Kuru Correspondence, 1959—1967", Archives of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Goroka. [Google Scholar]). A further claim argued that "conclusions could not be reached on the evidence published" (see Gunther 1960a Gunther, J. T. (1960a), "Letter to Professor Bennett, 2 May 1960", Kuru Correspondence, 1959—1967, Archives of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Goroka. [Google Scholar]). The attempt to create a "genetic fence" was largely ineffectual because it was implemented too late. From the late 1950s, many Fore men had travelled to other regions of the country seeking employment under the Highland Labour Scheme. By the early 1960s containment of the Fore people was all but impossible (Lindenbaum 1979 Lindenbaum, S. 1979. Kuru Sorcery, Disease and Danger in the New Guinea Highlands, Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. [Google Scholar]: 15). Alpers (2007 Alpers, M. P. 2007. A history of kuru. Papua New Guinea Medical Journal, 50(1–2): 10–19. [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]: 14) first adopted this term in 1999, arguing it "designate[s] the mortuary practice of consumption of the dead and incorporation of the body of a dead person into the bodies of living relatives ... helping to free the spirit of the dead". Hornabrook (1995) Interview, March, Wellington, New Zealand. Anderson (2008 Anderson, W. 2008. The Collectors of Lost Souls. Turning Kuru Scientists into Whitemen, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. [Google Scholar]) also identifies Gajdusek as a collector—one of body parts! Hornabrook (1997) Interview, October, Wellington. Designed to assess motor and sensory skills, and cognitive functioning—which was very difficult because of language and cultural differences—these tests generally involved non-invasive techniques such as observation of reflex actions, eye movement, and checking balance and coordination with finger-to-nose, and heal-to-toe tests (see Hornabrook 1966 Hornabrook, R. W. 1966. Kuru—Some misconceptions and their explanation. Papua and New Guinea Medical Journal, 4(1): 11–15. [Google Scholar]). Hornabrook (1995) Interview, June, Wellington. Hornabrook (1997) Interview, September, Wellington. The sing-sing was an annual event at Okapa supported by the Administration when local tribes gathered for several days to perform traditional songs and dances and enjoy a pig feast. Hornabrook recalled this event as "an exciting sight for somebody who hadn't been there before" (Hornabrook, 1997, Interview, September, Wellington). Hornabrook (1997) Interview, September, Wellington. Hornabrook (1995) Interview, March, Wellington. Some insight as to the legitimacy of this claim is provided by Michael Alpers, a close associate with Gajdusek over many years. "Carleton always exaggerates! ... if you experience something with Carleton ... if you saw five people ... then Carleton will recount it [as] ten ... and the next time ... it will be fifty people ... Everything expands and you ... have to recognize that in any utterance that comes from Carleton". Alpers (2004) Interview, Fremantle, Australia. Hornabrook (1995) Interview, September, Wellington. Hornabrook (1995) Interview, September, Wellington. Hornabrook (1997) Interview, July, Wellington. Hornabrook (1995) Interview, March, Wellington. Hornabrook (1997) Interview, October, Wellington. Hornabrook (1995) Interview, March, Wellington. Hornabrook (1997) Interview, October, Wellington, During my meeting with Gajdusek he made a point of acknowledging Hornabrook's contribution to the kuru investigation, identifying his paper in Prusiner and Hadlow (Hornabrook 1979 Hornabrook, R. W. 1979. "Kuru and Clinical Neurology". In Slow Transmissible Diseases of the Nervous System, Edited by: Prusiner, S. B. and Hadlow, W. J. vol. 1, 37–66. New York: Academic Press. [Google Scholar]) as his most important contribution. However, it was Hornabrook's entomological work in New Guinea that Gajdusek felt he would be best remembered by. Hornabrook (2001) Interview, August, Wellington. Burnet (1960 Burnet, F. M. (1960), "Letter to Dr J. Smadel, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., 5 January, 1960", Records of Frank Macfarlane Burnet, University of Melbourne Archives, series 10, no. 6. [Google Scholar]) 5 January. Hornabrook (1997) Interview, September, Wellington. Hornabrook (1997) Interview, September, Wellington
Disease · Ethnology · Field (mathematics · Field research · Kuru · New guinea · Pathology · Political science · Politics · Resentment · Social science · Sociology · History · History of Medical Practice · Law · Medicine · Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding · Race, Genetics, and Society
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |