Sanguine blight



The Sanguine blight is a zoonotic disease, circulating mainly among small rodents and their fleas. Without treatment, the sanguine blight kills about two out of three infected mortals within 4 days, regardless of race.

The term sanguine blight is derived from the appearance of swollen red rashes and hives on the bodies of those infected. These rashes especially occur on the shoulders, arms, neck and face of those infected with the sanguine blight.

Sanguine blight is generally believed to be the cause of the Red Death that swept across Sidereus in the latter years of the Third Age and killed an estimated 98 million people, 20-30% of the global population at the time. Largely as a result of the severe casualties resulting from the Void War, the death toll from the Red Death (while extreme in its own right) had an even more pronounced effect on the population of the world as a whole.

It is believed that the sanguine blight would not have spread in the manner it did had it not been for the direct machinations of followers of Perdita, as well as the intervention of the deity herself. In the years since the beginning of the Fourth Age, Perdita has admitted her involvement in the proliferation of the disease.

Signs and symptoms
The most famous symptom of the sanguine blight is painful, swollen red rashes. These are commonly found on the shoulders, arms, neck and face. Due to its fluid-transmission based form of infection, the sanguine blight is often the first step of a progressive series of illnesses. Sanguine blight symptoms appear suddenly, usually 2–5 days after exposure to the bacteria. Symptoms include:
 * Chills
 * General ill feeling (malaise)
 * High fever (102 degrees fahrenheit / 39 degrees celsius)
 * Muscle Cramps
 * Seizures
 * Rough, painful and swollen red rashes, commonly found on the shoulders, back, neck or face. Rashes are always bright red to dark crimson.
 * Pain may occur in the area before the swelling appears

Other symptoms include heavy breathing, continuous blood vomiting, urination of blood, aching limbs, coughing, and extreme pain. The pain is usually caused by the decaying or decomposing of the skin while the person is still alive. Additional symptoms include extreme fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, lenticulae (red dots scattered throughout the body), delirium and coma.

Traditional treatment
Chatûl and Elven doctors both thought the plague was created by air corrupted by humid weather, decaying unburied bodies, and fumes produced by poor sanitation. The recommended treatment of the plague was a good diet, rest, and relocating to a non-infected environment so your body could get access to clean air. In the year 2981 of the Third Age, the Elven Alchemist Ansiniel Lithrion discovered that the disease was transmitted through bodily fluids. As a result of this new understanding, it was determined that the disease's transmission was largely injury based - and proper treatment could begin.

Pathophysiology
Sanguine blight is an infection of the circulatory system, usually resulting from the bite of an infected insect, animal, or similar creature. The bacteria form aggregates in the gut of infected creature, often resulting in the creature regurgitating ingested blood, which is now infected, into the bite site of another creature. Once established, bacteria rapidly spreads through the blood stream of the now infected host and multiplies. As the disease progresses, the capillaries rupture, and skin swells and blisters, often times becoming necrotic.

History
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Early outbreaks
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Biological warfare
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