Exaths / The Scratching

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“The cause of death for this one was blood loss. Judging by the state we found her body in, this analysis was by no means difficult to believe. Most of the subject’s body was covered in laceration wounds. Yet the cause of the wounds eluded me initially. Metal blades would cause far deeper cuts, animal claws would have rent the flesh off. I found my answer when I looked at her hands, or, more specifically, her blood-caked nails.”

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-An autopsy report on a Exaths victim

Exaths, otherwise called “The Scratching,” is a common disease that causes the afflicted to scratch themselves. While both painful and scarring, the disease itself is rarely lethal, and most healthy victims recover within a week or two. The most common cause of death is from the disease’s symptoms—as the victim will often lacerate themselves, weakening their immune system and allowing other diseases to enter their body.

TRANSMISSION

The primary way Exaths is transmitted is through the bite of an insect. Specifically, through the bite of Welks: a common bug found primarily in warm, moist locations such as the jungle of Artima Isle. Welks spread Exantherine bacteria when their mandibles pierce the flesh of warm-blooded creatures. Cold-blooded creatures are completely immune to the disease, so the Welks themselves are unaffected, as are reptiles, who occasionally carry the disease. The most common recipient of Exaths are humans and the animals humans brought into the Great Storm. Humanoids are particularly vulnerable due to their lack of fur or any natural barriers for the insects to penetrate.

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Gotta say, I ain't used to all the heat down here. The humidity's fine—I lived on the Oasis Skerry after all—but this place is absolutely sweltering. The only thing stopping me from tearing the sleeves off this blasted shirt is the fear I'll be bitten half to death by those blasted Wel-
... scratch that, I just felt one bite me right under the arm as I was writing this. This place sucks, get me out.

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-Gwen Walkeen

Though less common than direct transmission through Welks, Exaths can also be transmitted through body fluids. This typically occurs when contaminated blood from the victim’s self-inflicted wounds makes its way into the pores and orifices of healthy creatures. Hence, doctors who try and treat the disease take care to try and cover much of their bodies. Due to the transmission requiring bodily fluids to enter healthy creatures, large outbreaks are not common.

SYMPTOMS

Exath's symptoms are more harmful to the host than the disease itself. True to its nickname of "The Scratching," those infected with Exaths excessively scratch at themselves, to the point where they can cause severe bleeding if left alone. The exact visions vary from victim to victim, though it is common for those who have specific phobias to see them as part of the hallucinations. For example, those with mysophobia (the fear of dirt) may see extensive amounts of dirt and mud covering their bodies, or those with scopophobia (the fear of being looked at) may see eyes prodruding from their flesh. Those with no specific phobias, or phobias that could not correlate to such a hallucination (such as acrophobia) generally describe bugs or slime coating their entire bodies. No matter the exact vision, responses to the symptoms among the infected are universal: they will attempt to scratch what they perceive to be the affected area of their bodies.

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Every bug on the face of Defilar seems to love me now. I woke up today to find too many to count all over me. What’s worse, I swear this blasted place is getting warmer. Never mind the sleeves, I’m seriously considering removing the whole shirt. IT CERTAINLY ISN’T STOPPING THE BUGS, THAT’S FOR SURE.

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-Gwen Walkeen

Victims will also undergo a fever during the infection as their bodies attempt to fight off the virus. The heating caused by their own bodies, along with the sensation of discomforting entities on the afflicted's skin can cause panic. Often, victims will wish to remove articles of clothing to cool off and have easier access to scratching at what they perceive on their flesh. Doing so, however, leads to the patient worsening their own condition by scratching, leaving open wounds and allowing further ailments to enter their bodies.

TREATMENT

The only real cure for Exaths as of now is time. Thankfully, the disease is almost never lethal under careful watch, as the majority of recorded fatalities were caused by the individual losing too much blood from self-inflicted injuries, rather that from the virus itself. Generally, the disease will work its way out of the subject's system within a week (10 days), though some cases last for up to two (20 days). Most on Artima Isle will catch the disease at some point in their lives, especially frequent hunters or others who journey out into the jungle. Due to the abundance of cases, all doctors on Artima—and many medical practitioners on other islands—know how to treat the symptoms of the disease.

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The bugs are climbing all over me. They’re everywhere. When I get up for the day—they’re there. When I went out to bathe, I found an entire nests worth crawling all over me. THEY’RE ALWAYS THERE, I CAN’T GET AWAY FROM THEM. I TRY TO BRUSH THEM OFF ME ONLY TO FIND THEY’VE BITTEN ME SO MUCH I BLEED. I’M BOILING, BLEEDING AND COVERED IN BUGS, WHY DID I AGREE TO COME TO THIS HELLHOLE?

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-Gwen Walkeen

To prevent the patient from harming themselves further from self-inflected scratches, special gloves are put onto the patient's hands. These gloves are constructed out of soft leather, and have thick, rounded fingertips that makes scratching with them virtually impossible. While seemingly a crude solution, the gloves are nonetheless effective at preventing injury. Should such gloves not be available, gauze tapes and bandages over the afflicted's hands also has proven to be an antiquate solution.

PROGNOSIS

After initial infection, whether through a Welk's bite or through infected blood, the patient will generally start displaying symptoms of Exaths within four to six hours. In the beginning states of the infection, subjects generally experience occasional hallucinations of bugs or objects they fear on their bodies. The fever is also fairly mild in this stage, and many infected do not realize they have Exaths yet. The disease can spread via infected fluid even at this stage, though such instances are rare due to the victim likely not having open wounds yet.

After two to three days, the hallucinations and fever become worse. The infected will begin to feel generally miserable and will likely wish to lie down and remove clothing. They will also see far more insect-like creatures on their bare skin at this point, prompting panic and the utilization of the subject’s nails to attempt to remove said insect-like creatures. Most will have moderate scratches by this point.

Eight or so days after the initial infection is when the disease is at it’s worst. If lethal injuries are to be self-inflicted, it will likely be during these days. Many infected dissolve into a state of hysteria at this point. Furthermore, the fever will make them extremely uncomfortable during this time. Should a subject survive this stage, the disease will slowly dissipate over the next three to four days. In rare cases, though, it may persist for longer, up to an additional week.

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I’m staying here, in my room, until this blasted fever goes away. It’s not just bugs any more. Mirrors are popping up through my skin. It makes no sense it makes no sense why are there BLOODY MIRRORS IN MY FLESH? Trying to get them out, but im startig to bleed quite a bit. The bugs are overwhelming me as I write this, I should have never come here PLSEASE SOMEON GET ME OUT OF HRE

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-Gwen Walkeen

Effects on Victims
Mortality Rate: 12%
Mortality on Immune Compromised: 38%
Intensive Care Rate: 70%
The disease has noticeably more fatalities in isolated individuals who do not have anyone else preventing them from injuring themselves.

Type

Bacterial

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Common

Testing