Outbreak of Anchilles fever spreads as vaccine supplies run out

Posted on 239202.12 by T'Vas in Current Affairs

SELOS SYSTEM — The death toll from an outbreak of the highly contagious Anchilles fever on Selos III has reached 800,000 with health officials warning that the figure could top one million within a matter of weeks.

Anchilles fever is an often fatal illness that attacks both the respiratory and nervous systems. There is no specific cure, and treatment is mainly supportive. It affects all age ranges but is particularly deadly among children and the elderly.

Though a vaccine has been developed against the infection, it is extremely rare and unable to be replicated easily for mass distribution. With the Federation Transport Union strike, shipments of the vaccine have dwindled, and doctors have urged government officials to seek aid in resupplying hospitals and clinics, which are being overrun with millions of patients infected with the debilitating disease. Adding further woes is the lack of easy transportation of foreign healthcare workers to Selos III in light of the strike.

“We need more help,” said Dr. Tenya Koqi, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Royal University Hospital in Bersai, a coastal city hit particularly hard by the outbreak. “More of the vaccine, more people—even just basic hospital supplies. This isn’t going away anytime soon.”

Starfleet Medical has dispatched two hospital ships, the USS Mercy and the USS Sabin to the system, which should arrive by the end of the month. Health experts have called on the Federation Council to divert additional ships to help transport shipments of the vaccine from more distant suppliers, but Starfleet Command has its hands full with the ongoing crisis at the Prometheus Station in the Piktar system.

The Royal Congress, the governing body of Selos III, has sought out help from its neighbors, but with a lack of the vaccine to inoculate doctors and nurses, few are willing to send personnel directly to the outbreak zones. Still, some healthcare workers have decided to go on their own, despite their governments’ objections.

“There are children dying every day in pain from this awful disease,” said Raenot Shenu, a critical care nurse from nearby Merinas IV. “I know the risks. We all do. But if we don’t go, who will?”

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About T'Vas

T'Vas is a correspondent for the Federation News Service. In addition to her own stories, she frequently contributes additional reporting to the articles of her FNS colleagues. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two cats.