The Red Plague:

A contributing factor to the collapse of civilization was the Red Plague. A form of viral hemorrhagic fever related to Machupo (arenaviridae) mutated with an affinity for human lung tissue. Combining the worst of smallpox and Ebola, the Red Plague was so called due to the profuse bleeding sores and petechiae, giving the victim a horrifying appearance. Route of transmission is via contimatinated body fluids,in particular infected aerosol produced by coughing ior sneezing. Transmission rate is over 90%, with equal lethality to those exposed. Survivors exhibit an immunity to the Red Plague, and some 1-2% of the population is naturally immune. There is no vaccine or known treatment.

Symptoms are varied and often appear within 2-5 days. Initial symptoms include high fever (at least 38.8°C; 101.8°F), severe headache, muscle, joint, or abdominal pain, severe weakness and exhaustion, sore throat, nausea, and dizziness[11]. Before an outbreak is suspected, these early symptoms are easily mistaken for malaria, typhoid fever, dysentery, influenza, or various bacterial infections, which are all far more common and reliably less fatal.

The red plague will typically progress to cause more serious symptoms, such as diarrhoea, dark or bloody feces, vomiting blood, red eyes due to distention and hemorrhage of sclerotic arterioles, petechia, maculopapular rash, and purpura. Other secondary symptoms include hypotension, hypovolemia, tachycardia, organ damage as a result of disseminated systemic necrosis, and proteinuria. The interior bleeding is caused by a chemical reaction between the virus and the platelets which creates a chemical that will cut cell sized holes into the capillary walls. After 5-7 days the person will die of "a million cuts." Often, internal and external hemorrhage from orifices, such as the nose and mouth may also occur, as well as from incompletely healed injuries such as needle-puncture sites. The red plague can affect the levels of white blood cells and platelets, disrupting clotting.

The majority of infected will show sighs of listlessness and torpor towards the end of the disease due to damage to the brain, sometimes referred to as 'zombie-ism'. A small percentage of the infected will elicit signs or increased irritibility and even rage.

Approximately 10% of the infected will recover given adequate supportive care. Treatment is primarily supportive and includes minimizing invasive procedures, balancing electrolytes since patients are frequently dehydrated, replacing lost coagulation factors to help stop bleeding, maintaining oxygen and blood levels, and treating any complicating infections.

The Nuclear problem:

Towards the finals days, when the plague was spreading uncontrollably, the government attempted to stop the disease through the us of nuclear weapons. Several nuclear weapons were used on US cities, redering those locations lifeless and posing potential radiation hazards.

Technology:

With the pressure of decining energy sources and the threat of pandemic, vast sums of money and resources were poured into science and technology - too littl, too late. However, the end times also saw the introduction of useful technologies.

Storage technolgies: Due to the need to preserve food, medicines, etc in the face of blackouts and a lack of refrigertaion,storage technologies originally slated for next generation military rations and other perishables were widely employed in packaging all sorts of products. Such preserved food, medicine, etc had shelf life measured in decades.

ReGen: A new class of drugs that vastly improved healing and recovery. Using data from the genome project, and regeneration techniques borowed from amphibians, a whole new range of healing drugs were just entering use as the collapse came.

Beta-voltaics: Military and government requirements for long term independent electrical supplies resulted in a wide range of beta-voltaic and other battery technologies being out into service. Most of these device are not true powersupplies, but rather are self charging batteries, using betavoltaic generators to charge batteries when not in use. Civilian BVs relied on tritium as their nuclear material, with a half life of only 12 years. Government BVs typically used Nickel 63, with a 97 year half life.