The Wasting

The Wasting is a feared disease, with no known cure in the wider Shifting Isles (those in Sanctuary Village know not to eat the mushrooms that house the fungal infection). It is called the Wasting because a person will develop fungus infections over parts of their bodies, and slowly...the body parts shrivel and fall off, often painfully. It is neither a fast or painless process, and can often look quite gruesome to those who are inflicted by it. And through the gruesome experience, the person is highly infectious and will spread it by screaming in pain.
It spreads easily through infectious spores, which has made a very difficult decision for the king of The Shifting Isles. King Ronan the Righteous has had no choice but to order isolation for those who have been infected, and many villages have been quarantined or burned all-together. Some 'lucky' villagers have escaped and roam for a place to safely live, but few make it to Sanctuary Village, the only place they would find safety and treatment.

Transmission & Vectors

Given that The Wasting is fungal, people acquire it by eating affected mushrooms that are populous in The Shifting Isles. When the mushrooms are not infected, they are bountiful and delicious. All it took was one diseased crop to infect a few people, and it spread.

Causes

It developed from diseased mushrooms, although the first crop has never been discovered. The rest of its creation is unknown.

Symptoms

You know you have caught The Wasting when  you develop fungus around a minor body part, be it a finger or an ear. Slowly it spreads and with it comes excruciating pain as your body part slowly shrivels up as the fungus develops. Finally the fungus will surround your body part and cause it to fall off. Many people have died from large body parts separating, such as legs and arms.

Treatment

The current treatment in the greater kingdom has been amputation. It has mixed results.

Prognosis

The longer a person is effected, the worse The Wasting gets. Many people die before their body parts shrivel, and the cause is unknown outside Sanctuary Village. Within Sanctuary Village, investigation by Cleric Rowan has discovered that The Wasting can enter the blood and choke the person from the inside out. If The Wasting is not stopped before it enters the bloodstream or infects an entire body part or limb, it is often deadly.

Affected Groups

Anyone can be affected by The Wasting, but strangely those of teenage age are the most susceptible.

Hosts & Carriers

So far only humans have been carriers of The Wasting. The mushrooms are the host of it, but it is hard to tell the difference between healthy and diseased.

Epidemiology

The condition is spread through either eating infected mushrooms, inhaling the spores or being touched or touching something that harbors the spores. Any social gathering can be a gathering point.

Cultural Reception

The victims of The Wasting are looked upon with contempt and fear and are often ostracized from their communities for fear of an outbreak.

Type

Fungal

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Common