The Kren‐Akorore: A Recently Contacted Indigenous Tribe

Historical review: Does falciparum malaria destroy isolated tribal populations?

“…The evidence is at best incomplete due to the lack of data from uncontacted populations and the often multifaceted aspect of falling 4 G.D. Shanks + MODEL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 populations even when they can be studied. For the three tribal groups discussed it appears that they had not coevolved with falciparum malaria, the record is mixed [13,23,36]. Malaria was thought to be the major reason for population loss in the Meruts but subsequent studies gave a more nuanced picture including infertility due to sexually transmitted diseases and demographic shifts.…”

“…As illegal mining and timber operations have moved into the forest reserves of the Yanomami, falciparum malaria has grown as an important medical problem of these now less-isolated tribal peoples. When members of the Kren-Akorore tribe moved into the Xingu National Park in the mid-1970s they began to suffer frequent severe attacks of malaria and some developed what was described as tropical splenomegaly syndrome necessitating prolonged periods of malaria chemotherapy [23]. Falciparum malaria was the leading cause of death (5 of 11 deaths) documented in this small vulnerable group that had been transferred from one part of the Amazonian rainforest to another in order to move them away from road construction which was certain to eliminate their isolation.…”