Striga

Striga is a fungal infection that was ravaging the federal space around 1085 A.E. Origins of Striga are unknown, but conspiracy theorists suggest that it leaked from a bioengineering laboratory that belongs to one of Federal Pharmaceutical giants.

Pathogenesis

After entering the body of living host, striga goes through five stages of development:

• Stage 1, Latent Stage – the fungus are slowly spreading through the organism of the host using its bloodstream and nerve system. The host is not contagious at this stage, but may soon fall sick as its immune system begins to fight Striga. The host’s immune system does pretty big impact on the external manifestations of Striga during Stage 2. Hosts with weak immunity get the infection evenly spread all over their body. Meanwhile hosts with strong immune system experience growth of fungal colonies only in few select places.
• Stage 2, Internal Growth – Striga has suppressed the immune reaction, and begins to rapidly multiply and create growths inside the host. Stage 2 is deemed as the most dangerous stage of Striga, because the host appears visually unaltered and healthy. Meanwhile the infection is creating contagious polyps on the mucous membranes of its carrier. This way a host with Stage 2 Striga can contaminate a large amount unsuspecting victims who may unknowingly interact with polyps inside host’s mouth or internal organs. This hidden nature of infection allows Striga to be classed as an STD.
• Stage 3, External Growth – Striga begins to manifest on the skin of its host. For people with weak immune system it may appear like gross red rash. For people with strong immune system, fungal growths appear mostly on parts of the body where the initial contamination took place. Usually, it is inside the month and aground genitalia. As Striga becomes impossible to hide on this stage, the host may experience social rejection by other members of the society, which lowers its danger towards other potential victims. On the other hand, Stage 3 growths on the host’s body produce mucus that can spread Striga on mere touch or through a sneeze in public.
• Stage 4, Festering – growths on the host’s body grow in size and begin to fester with the pathogen. The host also grows polyps on their skin that can pop and spread spores of Striga through the air around the host and contaminate new victims on mass. At this stage, the host is still in control of its body, but may begin experience discomfort and limited mobility as Striga grows through their bones and muscles.
• Stage 5, The Barnacle – The host becomes completely enveloped inside a large fungal colony of Striga. At this stage, the host is not mobile anymore and the barnacle consumes all bodily resources of the host to produce the contagious mucus for further propagation of the infection. As the host’s body dissolves inside the barnacle, it demands constant upkeep with biomass in order to produce more contagious secretion. Otherwise, if left alone, the barnacle dies, dries out and becomes a hard rock-alike entity with dormant spores of Striga deep inside of it.

Immune Reaction

Striga is an extremely contagious disease. The immune system of an average human can handle only as much as 1000-2000 spores of Striga at a time. If more spores enter the body, the victim’s immune system becomes overwhelmed and allows Striga to grow and reproduce inside its host’s body. When nearing the Stage 2 of infection, the host’s immune system becomes reprogrammed by Striga and treats the infection as an integral part of host’s organism.

Contagiousness

During the Stage 1, Striga can spread solely through contacts with infected blood.

Starting with stage 2 though, all bodily fluids of the infested host become highly contagious. Also, polyps that grow inside host’s body produce mucus that’s sole purpose is to spread the infection to other victims. Still, external contacts, like mere skin contact with the host, exposure to their sweat, or limited exposure to host’s saliva can be safe for other individuals.

During Stage 3, the host becomes the ultimate pathogen bearer as even contact with their skin can be lethal for others. Most contagious parts on the host’s body are those that have reddish fungal colonies manifesting on them. During this stage, the host is still mobile and other individuals have to actively avoid them not to get contaminated.

As the Stage 4 of infection begins, the host starts to lose its mobility. To compensate for that drawback, Striga begins to grow explosive and festering polyps on their body. These can spread Striga in aerosol form over air and contaminate large amounts of victims at once. Fortunately, at Stage 4, it becomes completely impossible for the host to conceal their infection.

During Stage 5, the final stage, the host becomes less dangerous then in stage 4 as their body turns into a static barnacle. If not supplied with biomatter, this barnacle, becomes solid like a rock and non-contagious at all. The danger here lies in the fact that spores of Striga remain alive and dormant deep inside the barnacle after its fossilization. This way it functions as a protective shell for the infection and makes it impossible to burn, explode, or suffocate the remnants of Striga deep inside of it. So, hypothetically, fossilized barnacle can carry Striga through time and space until the right circumstances appear and the infection can be spread out in the world once again.

Prevention and Treatment

Striga is immune to all known antibiotics, nanomolecular solutions and hunter-killer viruses. Since a host have been contaminated, there is no treatment against striga except for complete incineration/molecular dissolvement of the infected body.

When outside of the body though, spores of Striga can be weakened with acidic solutions or chlorine. Spores of Striga do also die if boiled in the water for over five minutes.

As of late 1085 A.E. the only recommendations that came from Federal Disease Control Council were:

• Avoid crowded places.
• Avoid close contacts with strangers.
• Avoid sexual contacts with unchecked individuals.
• Avoid drinking tap water.
• Avoid buying food from an open market.
• Work from home if possible.
• Check in regularly with the family physician.
• Invest in a better medical/life insurance.
• Report all sick/suspicious individuals to the police or emergency services.

Sources:

Federal Disease Control Council

Federal News Network