Afemintia

Afemintia is a illness related to a bacteria that can be found in the berry of the Diarni. The illness is caused when the infected berry is eaten without any prevention measure.

Transmission & Vectors

This illness comes from the berry of the Diarni. It can be obtained when eating a fruit infected with the bacteria or when eating an animal that recently ate that berry and has not been cooked properly. If the berry has been used to make Obsidian bush or other foods without cleaning correctly the berry, the illness can be transmitted to the consumer.
The bacteria source of this illness is not found in every Diarni, it started to infect the Diarni 16 years ago and has mostly infected the Diarni in the central forest of Branul. A couple of years ago, in the north and east Branul, there have been cases of Afeminita, leading the inhabitants to believe that this bacteria has started to infect the Diarni in these zone. The inhabitants of both zone have started to try to contain the bacteria within a smallwe terrain as possible.

Treatment

This illness can be treated before the patient starts showing symptoms of the bacteria entering the brain, aka a few hours after the scarring in the eyes.
At the first stage, the stomachache and diarrhoea, it can be treated doing a stomach cleanse with the help of a mixture done with various plants. When in the headache and fever part, it cannot be treated as the bacteria is traveling around the infected body and nothing know can kill all of it (except Icno's blood, though the patient may contract Icno's exsanguination). The only method know today to cure it when the bacteria is in the eyes, is by taking off the infected's eyes (or again with Icno's blood).

Prognosis

A couple of hours after ingestion of the berry with the bacteria (or poorly cooked food or drink), the infected start feeling a stomachache and afterwards diarrhoea. Both symptoms persist for a couple of days before disappearing and having the next symptom appear almost immediatly, the headache followed of a fever. This symptom means that the bacteria is leaving the stomach and slowly approaching the head of the infected. Both, the headache and the fever persist for three or four days. While the fever pass after these days, the headache does not disappear even though it is reduced. Eyes will slowly change the natural colour to a dark red colour, this process may take from two to seven days. This is the last symptom before the illness is fatal and incurable, because after the eyes colour change, scars will start appearing around the eyes, meaning the bacteria is slowly eating the flesh of the infected and with the flesh, the brain.
Icnos only reach the red eyes phase, as by then, their bodies realized that the bacteria are bad and the defenses act. Other species do not have this reaction to the bacteria for unknow reasons, thought it is believed that the curative blood of the Icno is the responsible.

Sequela

If the illness is not treated, the infected will die because the bacteria are eating their brain.
If the illness is treated before:

• Stomachache and diarrhoea: no consequences.
• Eyes changing colour: the eyes will never go back to its natural colour.
• Eyes changing colour and scars (it is usually never cured at this step, before it reaches the brain, but some cases have been seen): both the new eyes' colour and the scars will stay.

This article is in order to be re-written, either to fit worldbuilding style, to change structure of article, or to fit updated lore. If you are interested in it, let me know either in Discord (such as in my discord or in my DMs) or as a comment here.

Type

Bacterial

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Common

Affected Species

• Sapients
• Viriik
• Icno
• Fazots

Symptoms

• Fever
• Stomachaache
• Diarrhoea
• Change of eye colour to dark red
• Scars around eyes
• Headache
• Sensitivity to bright light
• Difficult to see in bright light

Hosts & carriers

Only the Diarni are able to host this bacteria, though a lot of animals who eat Diarni's berry are carriers of the bacteria while it is affecting the animal's body.

Cultural reception

There is usually a different reaction to someone who has contracted Afemintia, as it is not contagious.

Prevention

While it is almost impossible to know if a berry (or the animal) is infected with the bacteria, it is always recommended to cleanse the berry in boiling water for some minutes, or cooking properly the animal (if overcooking is possible, better). This usually prevents contracting the illness, but if these steps are not done correctly, the illness may be contracted.