Fox Fang (or Foxfang Disease) is a form of
peripheral nerve hyperexcitability that causes muscular activity--and is a disease feared by those in mountain villages, especially along the
Tilliman Highlands, where the
Redtail Fox is commonly found.
Signs and Symptoms of Foxfang
Foxfang, according to the Alchemists of the Black Robe, is a diverse disorder. As a result of muscular hyperactivity, those exposed may present with muscle cramps, stiffness, slow relaxation, associated walking difficulties, excessive sweating, quivering of a muscle, extreme muscle twitching, fatigue, exercise intolerance, spasmic jerks and other related symptoms.
These symptoms are most prominent in the calves and legs, but can also affect the spine. Foxfang symptoms can fluctuate in severity and frequency, and it has been noted that those of a noteable age tend to have much harsher reaction to the disease. Symptoms range from mere inconvenience to debilitating cramps that have been known to tear the muscles from the spine.
At least a third of people exposed also experience sensory symptoms--including blindness.
Cause of Foxfang
Under normal circumstances, the Redtail Fox is generally timid around humanoids. The majority of fatal cases of Foxfang have been recorded between villages in the Tilliman Highlands. The earliest recorded case of an actual fox attack that resulted in an infection comes from the forests near Haden, along Tam's Ridge of Narrow Pond.
Though Redtail Fox are not reservoirs for the disease, they have been known to catch various diseases from other species.
What worries so many hunters and farmers among the mountains, is that the Redtail Fox can morph into an exceptionally severe aggressive state when infected, uncharacteristicly biting numerous people in a single attack. Before an antidote was developed, bites were almost always fatal. Today, such bites can be treated if done so quickly, but the severity of Redtail Fox attacks can sometimes result in outright death--a bite near the head resulting in the disease acting too fast for a treatment to take effect.
Attacks tend to cluster in winter and spring. Initially it ewas thought that thr Redtail Fox had sought to claim a larger hunting area for lack of food--but the attacks were quickly distinguished from predatory attacks by the fact that the Redtail's were limiting themselves to biting their victims rather than consuming them.
Victims of Foxfang Disease are usually bitten around the calf and thigh unless prone on the ground when attacked.
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