New scenario suggestion: Ebola

[TheAnnoyingGu7cd]

For Ebola, standard starting conditions should include:
Transmission:
- Livestock transmission
- Wildlife transmission
- Rodent transmission
- Bat transmission
- Blood transmission

Symptoms:
- Internal hemorrhaging
- Coughing
- Inflammation
- Total organ failure
- Necrosis
- Hemophilia
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Skin Lesions

While it is transmittable via droplet infection (like... someone coughing in your face), the utilized game mechanic (air transmission) is not known and probably not appropriate.
Especially total organ failure will lead to a fast death.

The problem with Ebola: While it is a very potent pathogen, it is mostly transmitted through local wildlife (including especially bats, excluding avians) and within the small population through direct contact with infected people already showing symptoms. Infected people are severely immobilized, therefore they most probably won't spread the disease over distance. Especially in the first known instances, it has been transmitted through unsterilized injection needles. Incubation time is short and severity is high, so governments would be able to quickly conduct quarantine strategies.

Confirmed pathogen carriers are primates, rodents, bats and pigs. While primates are pretty exclusive for equatorial regions, bats and pigs are highly present in rural regions and could spread the disease further outside of it's core region, being central africa.
It is an important differentiation whether the particular animal is infected or just a carrier. In the first case, the pathogen does propagate inside the animal, which usually leads to symptoms. An infected animal produces the pathogen and can actively spread it to it's surroundings. On the other hand, a carrier only contains pathogen particles, these have to be transmitted through other means like contact of blood or flesh with food, drinking water and of course parasites like fleas, ticks and mosquitos. This passive infection is not a big deal in urban areas and is already accounted for by the game, Rodent I (passive) and Rodent II (active).

The ability to suppress the lethal abilities of Ebola would comply with the bio-weapon mechanic, but for a realistic scenario it shouldn't be included. Already the virus type is far too easy...


As you are interested in an Ebola scenario for the game, you may want to observe the very current affair of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea). Let's see how they will handle the situation, they already closed borders.
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