Eldonine Constricting Cough
One of the most horrible and dangerous things to strike during a period of settling is a sickess. A plague.
Such is the Eldonine Constricting Cough, which chose to strike in what seemed like only moments after the settlers of Eldondi chose the place to make their new home. As people began to build Fûhim, those who set out to forage for food and support the guards and builders began to fall ill one by one.
This sickness struck at the worst time and nearly ended the Eldonine before they had a chance to start.
Transmission & Vectors
ECC is transmitted a few different ways, but mostly through the air. It can lie dormant in the soil inside mouse and rat feces, and when it rains in the fall it can become aerosolized if the rain is heavy enough. Another way is from human-to-human when an infected human coughs and it's suspended in the air by the moisture propelled from the infected's mouth. This lead to the healers wearing owl-like masks which protected healers while they worked around the dying. It's much like the Black Death in that regard.
Causes
The first cases of this illness began after the heavy rains of autumn, which began shortly after the future Eldonine settled in the taiga forests of future Eldondi. The rain thrashed against the ground and threw the virus up into the air. No one remembers who was Patient Zero.
Symptoms
This illness manifests as a horrid cough that can wrack the body and leave the patient exhausted and barely able to do anything during the worst of it. They also suffer from a constriction of the trachea, such as with croup.
Treatment
The only cure to this sickness is to allow the body to deal with it—unfortunately, this is rarely able to happen as the sickness will often kill the patient before this can happen. Thus running a course of treatment involving the Phethyash plant, which can help ease the symptoms enough that the immune system is able to hunt down the virus and take care of it without the inflicted dying.
Prognosis
This illness will prove to be fatal to all. A few people, among those, possess immune systems that managed to outlast illnesses like pneumonia and bronchitis—and thus their bodies were a little more equipped to flight. But without the "cure", they may manage to make it through, but it will greatly weaken the survivor and they will remain weakened for the rest of their lives.
Prevention
There is no way to prevent being infected. Some people may possess a natural immunity—but that is a very rare thing.
Type
Viral
Origin
Natural
Cycle
Short-term
Rarity
Uncommon
Affected Species
Comments