Fen Fever

Fen Fever is a pervasive disease discovered in Mevhettar shortly after the Migration, widely believed to be borne by the fermentation of blood in mosquitos and more rarely leeches, transfused into the bodies of their Mevhan and livestock prey. Once thought to simply be a flu or plague caused by the deprivation and lacking sanitation on early settlements, it took several years for the parasitic origin to be discovered and its regional nature confirmed, particularly found in wetlands and spreading throughout warm summers, hatching swarms of the vampiric insects.   Symptoms begin similarly to an unseasonal flu, with headaches, fevers and tremors, to tightening of the lungs and throat, to strain of the vital organs bringing jaundice and weakness, even blindness in severe cases when the excess of harmful biles cannot be properly passed. Pain in the joints and muscles is common, swelling and retention of fluids despite the wasting of fat and vital muscle, blood and bile expelled from the gut or bladder. While deaths are fortunately rare among the otherwise healthy, the young and elderly are far more vulnerable, and even mild, resisted infections can leave lasting weakness and slow recovery, and in the most unfortunate permanent blindness or a slow death by internal decay of the liver and kidneys.   Many treatments were attempted, from simply sweating out the fever in aromatic steam and prayer, to unsuccessful atempts at letting out the fermented blood, but the most lasting and successful was discovered by accident from the use of bitter chinchona bark to relax the tremors brought on. However, rapid improvement in the fever itself was seen after treatment by tonic or infusion, and use of the bark spread as innovative study was made on its effect in both treatment and prevention. Purely medicinal at first, sweetened and diluted forms of the bitter tonic of bark and mineral waters became popular as a cool drink for summers, frequently paired with aromatic spirits and drunk far more widely than its actual medicinal use requires.