Does the Knahaten Flu have a real-world equivalent?

WhiteCoatSyndrome

I thought it might be smallpox, but the incubation period is too fast. Chickpox isn't lethal enough, and anyway the Knahaten Flu rash didn't itch.

Panda244

Neisseria Meningitis.

Erythema Multiforme Major


Otherwise it's most likely a parasite.

SweetRoll

Bubonic plague maybe?

Obscure

Well it's termed a "flu" so likely aerosol transmission. I'd bet it's based on a severe allergic reaction to an airborne plant spore resulting in anaphylaxis of the lungs and airways. It would sting the eyes and nose, create a high fever, and eventually the victim would asphyxiate and die.

Just my guess that isn't actually a virus or bacteria at all.

JKorr

Spanish Flu of 1918-1919. Killed between 20 to 50 million people world wide.

UrQuan

JKorr wrote: »

Spanish Flu of 1918-1919. Killed between 20 to 50 million people world wide.

Without doing any research into how the symptoms compare, that was my thought too. And I actually believe that more recent research suggests the total number killed by the Spanish Flu may be as high as 100 million, which would mean that it may have killed more than 5 times as many people as the first World War.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

I'm just checking Wikipedia for the Spanish Flu, but the symptoms seem to match up at least reasonably well:

Spanish Flu (note some of these symptoms come off the page for Cytokine Storm):
--High fever
--Swelling and redness (no word on whether or not it itched on the Wikipidia pages)
--Fatigue
--Nausea
--Bleeding nose

It struck during the summer and fall instead of the winter, which matches with the 'colder regions weren't hit as hard' portion.

The Knahaten Flu articles don't mention anything about affecting young adults more than older adults/children...I might need to do more research.

I do like the idea of it being an allergic reaction though. It would fit in nicely with the theory that the Argonians started it with Hist spores.