Alathan Flu (ah-LATH-un)

The Alathan Flu Epidemic of 4208 was responsible for the deaths of over one hundred and twenty children, mainly in Istuzia, Surelia, Narentia, and Lanaria. In addition, more than three hundred children suffered some degree of permanent vision loss, with dozens left completely blind.

Transmission & Vectors

The Alathan Flu was airborne, as well as contagious through contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person. Coughing and sneezing were common methods of spreading the infection.

Symptoms

Initial symptoms included fatigue, aches, and sneezing. Within six to eight hours of the first symptoms appearing, high fever, coughing and visual hallucinations (spots, lights, blurriness) began. Within the first sixteen to twenty-four hours, victims suffered extreme fever, aches and stabbing pains in the limbs, convulsions, blindness, and loss of consciousness.

Treatment

Controlling the skyrocketing fever through cold compresses was the main concern. Intravenous antiviral drugs had limited effect.

Prognosis

If the patient's fever did not break in a timely fashion, blindness was nearly certain. If the infection settled in the lungs more than the head, respiratory failure was possible and often fatal.

Affected Groups

The flu could cause mild cold-like symptoms in teens and young adults, but the dangerous effects were confined to children and babies.

Prevention

The worst of the 4208 epidemic took place in later summer and early fall. Researchers worked desperately until a vaccine was ready for distribution the following summer.

Epidemiology

The Alathan Flu was first reported in the small fishing villages of Istuzia, where sanitary conditions were often poor. From there it spread to Surelia and Narentia, then the mainland of Lanaria. Isolated cases were reported in Tralenia and Olaria.

History

Smaller outbreaks of a similar disease were known in rural areas of Istuzia for decades prior to the great epidemic. It is believed that the virus was originally spread through contact with bodily fluids, and only spread beyond the islands when it mutated to be airborne.
The 4208 epidemic was first identified in the Istuzian state capital of Alatha, from which it took its name.

Cultural Reception

Specialized schools for the blind and visually impaired sprang up in the wake of the epidemic, most notably the Eralax Institute for Visually Impaired Children, or E.I.V.I.C.

Type

Viral

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Affected Species

• Kavrillian