Moscow Downing Virus

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VIRUSFILE
Name: Moscow Downing Virus
Disease Description: Virus, RNA-based. Extremely prone to mutation. Based off of Variola vera, or the virus that causes smallpox.

Infects the blood vessels of mouth, skin, lips and cheeks; common of smallpox. Also infects larger blood vessels. Will also infect vessels around the brain, nerves, heart and lungs.

Transmittable through sex, body fluids, exposure to rash, contaminated water, and through air if the rash causes bleeding in the nose, throat or lungs. It can also be passed through animal contact (i.e. bites), as the virus only infects humans. Eating a host animal causes infection, which is believed to be the reason why the disease spread so fast.

Symptoms:
-Psychosis: mostly delusions and hallucinations caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Because of the loss of bloodflow, the brain does not function properly.
-Paralysis: Similar reasoning to psychosis. However, it can also be caused by blocked bloodflow in a limb, resulting in the death of the limb.
-Rash: Painful lesions on the skin, full of dead tissue. Perhaps the most identifiable factor of the disease.
-Heart failure: Either loss of blood or over-stressing due to clogged vessels.
-Hemorrhaging: Blood will go into the skin, mucous membranes, and gastrointestinal tract.
-Lesions: Not only on the skin, but inside the nose and sometimes on vital organs

Because the infected vessels can become blocked--lesions that should appear on the skin also appear in the blood vessels--blood vessels can burst, causing massive internal bleeding. Eventually, it dries beneath the skin, making it look black. Minor bleeding in the lungs might also occur, and coughing up blood is frequent.

Other traits:
-80% death rate, without suicide factor
-Difficult to vaccinate against
-Does not always cause a rash; may infect other areas
-Any damage caused to body tissues cannot be reversed.
-Highly resistant to drugs, anti-virals, and sanitizing fluids
-Many test subjects suffered immense amounts of pain; more than a few committed suicide to get rid of the pain


Created for the purpose of biological warfare with Russia, the Moscow Downing Virus is a more deadly version of the traditional smallpox. It is similar to the typical smallpox in that it causes a horrible rash on the skin; however, the MDV will infect other vessels, not just the ones on the skin.

It was tested on prisoners of war kept at a secluded area in Canada. As soon as it was proved to be an effective means of attack, several bombs containing a gas, which contained the virus, were released into the water supplies of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Shanghai, Tehran, Hong Kong, and Beijing, among other cities. However, the virus could infect someone without them knowing it, and there were American troops in infected areas who died because of it. Animals were also able to carry the disease without side-effects, and any human that ate a contaminated animal was infected.

The scientists tried to stop the disease from progressing through mass vaccination, and that stopped it for a year or two, but the disease could mutate around just about anything. It came back, hitting hard and seeming to take anyone who could prevent any further infection.

Granted, there are people who have survived the disease. However, their appearance is disgusting at best and their mental ability may or may not be fully functional. In general, most people who contract the disease die. Those that do not die commit suicide, for the pain is astronomical.

For those going, "Why not just test it on animals?", the answer is simple. Anyone who researches Variola vera would know that animals cannot be infected by the virus. In fact, during the time when smallpox was common in England, milking maidens were actually more resistant to the disease that others, due to immunities in cows.

*Written by Lucius.