Black Fever
"It is with great sadness that I announce that Highest Father Lord Ulrich has taken ill. It seems that during his most recent trip, while praying for and visiting the sick, he came down with the very fever our missionaries were there to combat. He has seen it fit, in getting his affairs in order before he ascends to the light, to abdicate the Luminous Throne, and to turn the seat over to the Grand Pontiff, His Excellency Ludwig Kitcher." - The orator of the 537th Convention of the Light.Black fever is a deadly disease which can occur as a result of a particular type of infection, The signs and symptoms include a sore throat and mouth, fever, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, and a characteristic rash. The rash is black, and can cause the skin to crack and bleed. It can seemingly affect anyone of any age. Once the outward symptoms start to show, the disease is violently contagious if proper precautions are not taken, and as such black fever outbreaks tend to decimate poorer regions where the infected can not be properly tended to.
Transmission & Vectors
Black fever is a disease that is spread through an infection from an unknown number bacteria, most commonly encountered in wet and humid areas. The disease is a bit of a sleeper agent, staying dormant for as long as three months after the initial infection. Once it starts acting however, it moves quickly, and has been fatal in most known cases.
Causes
Unfortunately, the cause for black fever is not currently known, with the only real knowledge of the disease that it seems to come from some unknown bacteria, one that thrives in the hot and humid environments most common in the southern regions of Oscana.
Symptoms
- Fever, typically over 102.4°F (39.1°C)
- The mouth and throat seem to gain a blackened tinge, as if covered in ash, a condition referred to as Ashmouth.
- A rash will break out, predominantly on the back, arms and neck, drying out the skin and causing it to crack painfully.
- Petechiae will develop on the skin, particularly in the armpits, elbows, and the groin.
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Vomiting and abdominal pain
Epidemiology
Black fever can occur in both male and female humans and dwarves, with none of these demographics seeming to get it more frequently than the others. Children tend to be the most commonly infected. Although these Ashmouth infections can happen at any time of year, infection rates peak in the spring and summer months, typically in warmer climates.
Cultural Reception
As the disease is deadly and can be violently contagious, individuals without access to a sickroom and doctor that are thought or found to be sick are exiled from their homes and communities. Untreated, the disease does its job relatively quickly, and exiled individuals are often dead within a week of the first visual symptoms.
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