West Swamp Fever

A disease that only appears in the @settlement region in Ceaterra Empire @settlement is in a swamp region in the northwest of the country.

Übertragung & Vektoren

The disease is transmitted via the air, it is a caused by the spores off a unique species of fungi that only exists in that swamp region. The spores are released on contact as a defense mechanism.

Ursachen

The spores of the fungi are released when they feel threatened, mostly on contact. The species is inconspicuous, a dark-brownish colour similar to other plant life in the swamp area and rather small. Most animals and humanoid species activate the defense mechanism by accidently stepping on or very close to a fungus. The spores are then released with a lot of force behind them, spreading through a 2 meter diameter around the mushroom at the least. If the spores are inhaled they reach the lungs and cause a serious infection, that can't be treated like a normal lung infection because the spores stay in the lungs not unlike parasites and cause relapses whenever the ill show signs of improvements.

Symptome

The infected person starts seeing symptoms roughly 24 hours after they inhaled the spores from the fungus. It starts with dizziness together with a feeling of being unable to breath. This is caused by the spores setting into the lungs and minimizing the space there. Additionally when the spores settle into the membranes of the lung they stiffen the membrane making it unable to expand the way it could before. This stiffening of the membranes gets worse if the infection goes untreated until they aren't able to constrict or expand at all, leading the person to be unable to breathe. Aside from this the body reacts to the unknown particles with fever that can flare up at any point and violent coughing fits that at the start of the infection are short similar to a normal common cold and continue to increase in their length and force. This can damage the windpipe and lead to coughing up blood.

Behandlung

Temporary Treatment

The illness can temporarily be treated by fighting the symptoms. A lot of bed rest and tea against the cough and the rough throat. Keepin the person as warm as possible against the fever. These however only ease the pain and don't stop the progression of the illness since the spores are still inside the lungs and can cause relapses anytime. Furthermore there are no known temporary treatments to prevent or slow down the stiffening of the membranes.

@species

@species is the only known treatment to permanently get rid of the spores inside the lungs. The sap of the leaves is added to warm water, the patient has to inhale this mixture regurlarly for at least 2-3 months. Additionally the plant can be used to make tea that soothes the achings in the body of the ill. The sap of the @species comntains a chemical compound that makes the cell wall of the spores permable and enters it. There it breaks down the spore from the inside, because the spores have no resistance regarding the chemical properties of that compound.

Prognose

Look to the symptoms section to read about the different stages of the disease. The likely course for a person suffering from this disease is a lot of pain, but ultimately coming out alive from this. Though the diesase is deadly if it's not treated witth @species, it appears only in the region of @settlement. The people there are knowledgable when it comes to this disease and know exactly how to treat it. Therefore the chances of someone dying from it are slim as long as they search for help in the town. @Species is a cultivated herb in the town, so that there isn't any shortage in case a lot of people get sick in a short amount of time.

Sekundäre Krankheiten

If treated quickly there are no lingering after effects to the disease.
However if the spores had time to start stiffening the membrane of the lung, then there are chronic conditions that result from it. The lung remains stiffened to some degree even years after the infection was cured, this causes faster fatigue after straining the body to the point of fainting due to the fact,that they can't get enough oxygen to the brain because of the lack of lung volume.

Betroffene Gruppen

Any person or species can be infected by the diesease as long as tthey have working lungs.

Wirte & Überträger

The fungi that use the spores are themselves not infected in any way.

Vorbeugung

The only way to prevent getting infected is by not inhaling the spores of thoses fungi. That can be achieved by watching very closely where you're going and not steering from the paths that cut through the swamp from the town to the mine. Aside from that it is possible to wear face masks, these are so fine that you don't inhale the tiny spores even when you accidently step on one.

Epidemiologie

The disease cannot be transmitted from person to person. During the spring is the prime growth time of the fungi, in that time period one should be more cautious while wandering through the swamp.

Geschichte

It is not known what the first case of the West Swamp Fever was since for a long time everyone thought it was a case of pneumonia. Until a scientist ventured into the swamp in search of a rare species of frog and got infected. He was able to tell the people that it was caused by the fungus before he died. Years and many different tries to find a cure later, someone discovered the healing properties of @species.

Kulturelle Wahrnehmung

In the beginning they were treated like usual pneumonia victims, which means that everyone would stay away in hopes of not getting infected except for family and close friends. After it was discovered that the infecion was not contagious nobody tried to avoid the sick people anymore and when the curre was discovered it was generally handled like any non-serious disease.

Typ

Fungal

Ursprung

Natural

Zyklus

Short-term

Seltenheit

Extremely Rare