185 
Kuru Research Center 
Awande, Okapa» Eastern Highlands District 
I Papua New Guinea 
I May 8, 1972 
! Dear Eldon, 
The cables that keep coming Indicate that there Is some urgent need of 
quick approval of the Alpha Helix trips before Joe gets back and I return. I 
: had not thought this necessary, but the staff tells me that this Is because of 
: June 1 as late date for getting necessary supplies off to La Jolla or Honolulu 
to meet the ship. I have not been near a radio, and much of the time I do not 
I get cables for may days. Thus, I now suddenly have three radiograms and your 
urgent Memo. 
Joe has finally seen kuru — 1 managed to get a half dozen cases near the 
I road system, and by suffering no more than hours of rough riding he got to see 
them. He was ecstatic, and very, very satisfied, I believe. We are now 
launching Into the completion of the field epidemiology, which has some exciting 
developments. The 51 cases we have this year already outdoes the world series 
I of C-J disease available at any one year to study, and thus one cannot easily 
I belittle the advantages of work here, although this Is less than one-fifth as 
; many patients as we were once able to see In one year. Last year total deaths 
;; number 71. 
:l 
As to the Alpha Helix . It solves the problem 1 have been having for years 
I of completing our Tongarlkl studies which have been the goal of three previous 
« expeditions. They have already netted us an Intense village focus for us of 
I familial periodic paralysis. Including the first human cases with COMPLETE heart 
block during attacks. Also, we have odd patterns of arbovirus (mostly 
encephalitic agents) distribution on these Isolated Islands, where there are 
very few species of Insect vectors and of possible mammalian host. Thus, the 
simplified ecology has given us a great advantage In these Islands, and since 
they are adjacent to larger Islands wherein the prevailing "tropical” pattern of 
i multiple arbovirus Infections endemic always prevails, we have good reason to 
I hope to sort out variables more easily with these limited populations In small. 
Isolated and limited ecologies. 
It Is In the Banks and Torres Islands and on Tongarlkl (New Hebrides) that 
we have found the first and only alpha-chain human hemoglobin variant which we 
published as HEMOGLOBIN-J-TONGARIKI with its complete structure down to the 
amino acid substitution some time ago. This Is the FIRST real Melanesian 
marker, and It permits us the trace genetic relationships In Melanesia as we 
I have been unable to do previously. Already we kow of coastal people on New 
' Britain with the variant! These, then, are some of the previous and on-going 
studies which we have Initiated and continued to work on In the past In these 
New Hebridean and Solomon Islands. My Rennell Island genetics study also 
; summarizes other studies of this kind we have started. 
