Pythian Flu

Damned dock officials should've stopped it. When those big Pythian freighters pulled in, full of phlegm and blue in the face, they should've been forced to stay away. Instead we let them in, and communities like mine paid the price.

— Hlekani Xirindza, Ceshabelo, Lafère

The 432 flu pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Pythian Flu or as the IS-524 flu, was a deadly pandemic which affected multiple worlds along Interstellar Highway 542, with isolated cases further afield. The earliest confirmed case was identified in the Pythia System in March 432, but had likely been circulating for some time prior. Over the course of the following three years, millions would become infected as it spread through trade, with significant fatalities especially in the Dumas System.

History

While the first cases were reported in Pythia, epidemiologists consider it unlikely that it originated there. Competing hypotheses point to either the Morrígan or Carthusia systems as likely breeding grounds, with their low fatality rate during the epidemic attributable to contracting the earlier, milder strains. Wherever it began, it had mutated to be severe in March, and spread along IS-524 and to major connections such as The Junction.   This flu reached the Dumas system in April, and to Morrígan and Carthusia in May. The outbreaks in Dumas and Pythia were considered particularly severe, with a long incubation period enabling it to spread undetected along essential trade routes intra and inter system. The majority of deaths from this flu were reported during this "first wave" in mid 432, before authorities implemented guidelines to slow its spread and vaccines had been made available.   The second wave, which swept along the highway in early 433, was much more contained, being prevented from spreading in Junction and barely affecting Carthusia. This was also considered somewhat milder, though whether this was a quality of the virus itself or an acquired resistance in the populace wasn't clear. The introduction of a vaccine targeting this flu strain certainly had an impact for many.   For most systems, this was where the flu faded into ignorable seasonality, barely more serious than other circulating influenza. Dumas, however, faced an aggressive third wave in 434 which is apocryphally attributed to a Pythian freighter, and is more likely due to relaxed quarantining standards. This wave devastated Vallon especially, with many smaller regional communities not having had access to the flu vaccine.

Epidemiology

Unlike prior seasonal influenza, this pandemic was noted for its long incubation time, ranging from two weeks to a month. Symptoms during this time were often mild and confused for common cold, being sore throats and headaches. These would be regularly ignored by the infected, with many assuming the ventilation systems of their ships and stations would obliterate the minor infection.   During the especially deadly first wave, and for the Duman third wave, the progression of the flu often led to severe pneumonia and lung hemorrhage, which was the cause of the majority of deaths during the pandemic. Without early intervention, those who survived often faced chronic complications, such as reduced lung capacity and neurological disability. This was generally less true for the milder second wave, as well as circulations of the virus after 434, though not entirely absent.   The communities most devastated by the virus were often industrial centers with high percentages of hard labour, as well as those with limited contact to bustling ports. This is attributed to a lower quality of health among the former populace due to mineral and chemical exposures, and to a reduced immunity to similar flu viruses among the latter. Some exceptions exist, such as OnRamp Alpha in Dumas, which is likely linked to an increasing poverty among residents causing similarly poor health outcomes.