Dreaming Fever

Among the diseases that are viewed with fear and superstition by the peoples of Greymantle Marsh, few (other than the plagues) are dreaded as much as Dreaming Fever. The death toll isn't as high as the contagious destruction that the plagues bring, but the suddenness with which Dreaming Fever strikes, the frightening symptoms, the uncertainty about how the disease is spread, and the short but intense period of danger than infected individuals are in, are enough to spook even the most stoic Greymantle inhabitant.

Transmission & Vectors

Most commonly known as Dreaming Fever, this disease flares up through communities in Greymantle Marsh in a sporadic manner, usually once every few years. The lifecycle of the pathogens and their vectors are seemingly such that the disease can be entirely unheard of for several years at a time, then appear suddenly and powerfully in a localized area. It is suspected that leeches and/or biting insects are the carriers of the disease, and arguments rage over the conflicting theories.
Whatever the case, when Dreaming Fever cases spring up, most activity ceases in the affected area for several weeks while the disease runs its course. People stay out of the water and away from the open marsh where insects gather, sales of bug repellant skyrocket, and occasionally poisons and other methods are used to attempt to purge the area of infected vectors. Whether these methods are successful or not (various cultures and even individual families swear by an assortment of different tactics) the disease tends to disappear again within a few weeks.

Symptoms

The visible onset of Dreaming Fever is sudden and dramatic, roughly forty-eight hours after initial infection, and twenty-four hours after the first, mild symptoms. This lead time is enough that usually many more people than expected have been infected by the time the first round of afflicted persons are noticed.
Twenty-four hours after infection, which almost invariably occurs after an individual has spent time out in the open marshland, light cold or flu-like symptoms are experienced--sometimes mild enough to escape notice, and almost always assumed to be a much less serious illness or even allergies. If intensive rest begins at this stage, the severity of the later symptoms is noticeably lessened, but with how often the first stages of the disease are misdiagnosed, the first round of sufferers are hit with the full force of the disease.
Forty-eight hours after infection, symptoms abruptly spike in intensity with the appearance of a high fever, usually followed within an hour or so by extreme fatigue. This fatigue is partially due to inflammation affecting the brain, causing lethargy, disorientation, and a strong desire to sleep. If an affected person does not quickly submit to intensive rest, lapses in consciousness and even coma can occur.
At the peak of symptoms, afflicted individuals experience high fever, disorientation, hallucinations, nausea, photophobia, and the disordered sleep that gives the disease its name. Turbulent and unwilling sleep, often marked by vivid dreaming that can seemingly continue while awake while delirium sets in, is a hallmark of the illness.
The symptoms can be summarized as intense, acute inflammation, which results in high fever and affects the brain and several other organs, including the liver and spleen. Without treatment, the inflammation can lead to fatal swelling in the brain, serizures, coma, organ failure, or secondary complications including permanant neurological damage.

Treatment

The best treatment for Dreaming Fever is intensive rest, anti-inflammatory measures, and time.
The patient must be kept as calm and comfortable as possible while the disease runs its course, as stress reactions are already high in the body, and further exertion can cause the inflammation response to increase. The delirium complicates this effort, and severe cases may need the aid of several people to keep a patient still and calm. The effectiveness of restraints is debated.
It can be difficult to administer anti-inflammatory medication to a patient in the throes of delirium, but other methods of lowering a fever or general inflammation can help as well.
While other treatments are debated and practiced from community to community, the only truly effective one is waiting. If symptoms are managed, the disease will run its course without lasting damage to the patient. The active, feverish stage of the disease in mild or well-managed cases can last as short as eight hours, with severe cases lasting up to several days.

Type

Viral

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Rare