turning point

The turning point is an informal name for the transition between the dormant phase and the chronic phase of Rumase-Associated Illness. It is marked by a rumaleptic seizure.
People who have received Rumase as it is meant to be administered slowly over time do not usually undergo a turning point. Indeed, when Rumase was first being developed, the seizures that did occur were just considered a one-time rare side effect.

Causes

When Rumase is not administered as recommended, the development of a VNO and other Z-virus related organs and tissues happens faster than intended. It is thought that this somehow triggers a sudden immune response against the host's own neurological tissue, leading to the seizure, but the exact mechanism is unknown.

Symptoms

The most obvious symptom of a turning point is its associated seizure. However, there are a handful of symptoms that sometimes occur in the minutes prior:

• Confusion

• Nosebleed

• Racing heartbeat

• Feeling of impending doom

Treatment

The turning point cannot be prevented if the Z-virus was caught the usual way, ie, not administered slowly. As such care for infected still in stage 1 of RAI is supportive with the goal of letting it run its course safely.

Prognosis

Infected who go into the turning point without any heart conditions usually come out of just fine. However, the state they come out of it in cannot be predicted -- they may wake up Carriers, Cyclers, Romeros, or in extremely rare cases, Asympototes.
Most infected with heart conditions survive the turning point without long-term effects, but sudden death has been reported.

Cultural Reception

Those not in the know about the virus nor seizures will usually consider this a particularly bad seizure.
In the early days the Z-virus outbreaks, people quickly learned that the turning point signaled the onset of infection. When people learned that not all people who hit the turning point seem to "turn," this lead to the custom of waiting until after the turning point to decide on whether or not to put a bite victim down. Those who woke up as themselves were declared immune, those who woke up in a RAASC (Rumase-Associated Altered State of Consciousness) were shot on sight.
It is now know that waking up in a RAASC after the turning point can happen to Carriers, Cyclers, and Romeros and therefore cannot be used as a reliable assessment of prognosis.

Type

Neurological

Parent

Rumase-Associated Illness

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Short-term

Affected Species

• zeitgabberim