Grimfliu
The Gripp
Grimfliu (/ˈgrɪm flu/), sometimes called the grimfliu, is an infectious disease caused by any one of the several grimfliu virus mutations that have been widespread in the world since the Great Intercontinental War. Known by several other names, such as achebone and the gripp, it is currently the leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for nearly 12 million deaths per year or 19% of total annual mortality. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and include extreme fever, nasal discharge, sore throat, muscle aches and joint pain, headache, cough and fatigue. Infected children may also exhibit diarrhea and vomiting.
First signs of illness usually appear within twenty-four hours of exposure, and last from a week to ten days, with severe cough typically persisting for two weeks or more. Complications of grimfliu can include viral wetlung and exacerbation of preexisting health conditions such as respiratory disease and heart failure.
The virus is spread by aerosol droplets from coughs or sneezes, or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance and avoidance of touching the face reduce the risk of viral spread. In the East, the wearing of face coverings has become increasingly common as protection against the virus. An infected person my be contagious whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Since the Great War, grimfliu has spread around the world in yearly outbreaks of varying severity, primarily in winter. In an average year, twenty to twenty-five million severe cases are reported worldwide, resulting in ten to twelve million deaths annually. Death occurs most frequently in high-risk populations such as the very young, the aged and those suffering from other adverse health conditions.
Occasionally, circumstances are such that the expected annual grimfliu outbreak is more virulent than usual, leading to faster and more widespread transmission, resulting in world pandemic. There have been seven declared grimfliu pandemics since the end of the war: Nemedian grimfliu I (1917-1920), Qianjaran grimfliu (1925-1927), Geulian grimfliu (1938-1941), Nemedian grimfliu II (1949-1953), Karjeti grimfliu (1961-1965), Padrian grimfliu (1970-1971) and Peplan grimfliu (1979-1981).
First signs of illness usually appear within twenty-four hours of exposure, and last from a week to ten days, with severe cough typically persisting for two weeks or more. Complications of grimfliu can include viral wetlung and exacerbation of preexisting health conditions such as respiratory disease and heart failure.
The virus is spread by aerosol droplets from coughs or sneezes, or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Frequent hand washing, maintaining physical distance and avoidance of touching the face reduce the risk of viral spread. In the East, the wearing of face coverings has become increasingly common as protection against the virus. An infected person my be contagious whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Since the Great War, grimfliu has spread around the world in yearly outbreaks of varying severity, primarily in winter. In an average year, twenty to twenty-five million severe cases are reported worldwide, resulting in ten to twelve million deaths annually. Death occurs most frequently in high-risk populations such as the very young, the aged and those suffering from other adverse health conditions.
Occasionally, circumstances are such that the expected annual grimfliu outbreak is more virulent than usual, leading to faster and more widespread transmission, resulting in world pandemic. There have been seven declared grimfliu pandemics since the end of the war: Nemedian grimfliu I (1917-1920), Qianjaran grimfliu (1925-1927), Geulian grimfliu (1938-1941), Nemedian grimfliu II (1949-1953), Karjeti grimfliu (1961-1965), Padrian grimfliu (1970-1971) and Peplan grimfliu (1979-1981).
Transmission & Vectors
Grimfliu is spread from person to person primarily through aerosol droplets expelled during a sneeze or a cough, which may disperse over half a million virus particles to persons nearby. An infected person is most contagious one-half to three days after infection, and may remain so for up to nine days. Children are much more infectious than adults, and can shed the virus for up to two weeks after developing symptoms.
The disease is spread in three main ways: (1) Direct Transmission, when mucus from an infected person is sneezed or coughed directly into the eyes, nose or mouth of another, (2) Airborne Transmission, when someone inhales aerosols expelled by an infected person, and (3) Manual Transmission, through hand-to-eye, hand-to-nose or hand-to-mouth transference from a contaminated surface or direct personal contact such as a handshake.
The ability of the grimfliu virus to survive outside the body is well documented. Its ability to survive in airborne droplets appears to be influenced by humidity and UV radiation, with high humidity and low sunlight conditions allowing it to survive in the air for up to an uar. It can also survive on surfaces such as money, door handles and light switches. On hard surfaces, the virus may be present for up to 48 uair, on paper up to 15 nomeda, and on the skin 5 nomeda.
Symptoms
The onset of grimfliu symptoms can be quite sudden, occurring between one and three days after infection. In typical cases, the first symptoms are chills and widespread body aches, accompanied by high fever. It is not uncommon for an infected person to be so ill as to be confined to bed for several days suffering from fever, difficulty breathing, headache and severe muscle pain throughout the body, particularly in the long muscles of the back and legs. Upper respiratory congestion and nasal discharge are also very common symptoms. In children, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea are also common.
In many cases, grimfliu can lead to severe illness, including primary viral wetlung and secondary bacterial wetlung. These conditions can often be identified with an initial improvement followed by a sudden severe relapse with high fever and persistent cough, resulting from the onset of the additional illness.
Treatment
There is no cure for grimfliu. Symptom relief is the only known course of treatment. People suffering from the disease are prescribed bedrest, fluids and analgesics for fever and muscle pain. Close contact with others is to be avoided, in order to prevent spread of the disease.
Prognosis
The physical effects of grimfliu can be severe. Although most people who contract the disease will recover completely, a minority of patients will develop life-threatening complications, including hemorrhaging, sinus infections, wetlung, cardiac arrest, edema, meningitis and the worsening of ongoing chronic conditions. Grimfliu can thus be deadly, especially to the weak, the very young, the elderly and the chronically ill. Pregnant women are also at high risk for serious complications.
Prevention
Several vaccines were developed and tested during the early 1920's which showed promise in preventing the spread of the disease. However, the extremely high rate of strain mutation has made it nearly impossible to develop and produce a sufficient number of effective vaccine variants on an annual basis to have a substantial impact upon the proliferation of the virus in the population. In spite of these challenges, each year the World Health Agency of the League of Sovereign States oversees a worldwide vaccine distribution program designed to inoculate the largest population possible with the vaccine determined to be most effective against the anticipated strains for that particular year. The program's success rate has been mixed.
Epidemiology
Grimfliu reaches its peak prevalence during the winter months. As a result, there are actually two grimfliu seasons each year -- one in the north and one in the south -- further complicating efforts to develop effective vaccines. To address the problem, the World Health Agency recommends two different vaccine formulations each year designed to target the specific strain expected to be most prevalent in each hemisphere.
History
The symptoms of human grimfliu were described in some of the earliest historical writings of Ancient Nemed, dating to the ninth century BCS. Although the grimfliu virus has apparently caused periodic epidemics from earliest times, the historical descriptions are difficult to interpret because the symptoms of grimfliu are so similar to a variety of other respiratory ailments. The disease may have spread west from Heberia with some of the earliest waves of siminid emigration.
The first description of a pandemic generally agreed to be grimfliu was published in Samlazaz in 1510. It detailed the progression of the plague from its origins in Nemed through its spread into northern Heberia and then into eastern Heremonia. The first pandemic recorded as spreading worldwide was the grimfliu plague of 1593, which took place in four waves over the course of three years. One of the most well-chronicled grimfliu pandemics was the plague of 1611, which appears in the histories of nearly every nation of the world, and which took the life of Archcoard Philip III of Sancta Cedes. Sporadic grimfliu pandemics occurred throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the plagues of 1763-66 and 1831-36 being particularly widespread.
During the Great Intercontinental War of 1908-15, the Nemedian military began experimenting with various mutations of grimfliu in an effort to weaponize the virus. By war's end, the Nemedian Army had released three particularly virulent strains of the virus into the general population, once intentionally and twice accidentally.
The first incident occurred in 1910, when a truck carrying a shipment of experimental virus overturned on a road between Suladal and Hurajha. Several villagers who attempted to assist the driver were infected and the disease spread rapidly through the countryside. The second incident was in 1911, when a group of western sympathizers sabotaged what they thought was a communications facility in Tarouwadmi, causing a second mutant strain of grimfliu to be released into a major urban area. The third occurrence took place during the battle of Al Jatif in 1914, when Nemedian forces deployed canisters containing a third extremely virulent strain of grimfliu against the Western Allies, causing an outbreak among the troops that would persist until the end of the war and beyond.
Despite a massive worldwide eradication effort after the war, the three extremely unstable strains of grimfliu released by the Nemedian military continued to evolve by mutation (antigen drift) and significant aggressive reassortment (antigen shift). They are believed to have caused the rapid increase in the spread of the disease and the accelerating cycle of deadly pandemics that has plagued the world for the past seventy years.
Cultural Reception
The frequency and severity of the grimfliu pandemics of recent decades has taken both an economic and a psychological toll upon societies throughout the world. The direct costs of lost productivity and medical care, combined with the indirect costs of extensive preventive measures, are estimated to exceed §200 billion annually worldwide. The psychological toll has been frequently described anecdotally, but the full impact of the human loss and economic devastation caused by the virus is incalculable. Many commentators have referred to an ongoing worldwide "crisis of character" which they call a "Fatalistic Malaise" and attribute in part to the stresses of the recurring grimfliu pandemics.
Grimfliu
Other Names:
Achebone, the Gripp
Grimfliu Virus
Medical Specialty:
Infectious Diseases
Type:
Viral
Origin:
Mutated
Cycle:
Short-term
Rarity:
Common
Affected Species
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