Santa Fe, NM - An as yet unidentified illness, that has taken a total of thirteen lives ,appears to be spreading from its original origins in the nation's Southwest. The unidentified disease, which is believed to have been first identified on a Navajo Indian reservation, now has spread to other areas of the Southwest and Midwest.
The mystery disease is characterized by "flu-like" symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, weakness, and general malaise. The disease then takes a dramatic turn, with rapid filling of the lungs with fluid and suffocation In several cases, the unknown ailment has had a very rapid onset, which has resulted in death in otherwise health teenagers and young adults. First thought to only be effect native Americans, in recent days, the deadly malady has struck Caucasians and other ethnic groups.
Public health officials reportedly remain stumped by the "mystery disease", which reportedly does not fit the normal patterns of any known food, water, or airborne disease. Epidemiologists say that they are having great difficulty in identifying a common vector of transmission that could help to pinpoint the type of disease that is involved.
Health investigators have been pursuing the possibility that the disease is transmitted by direct contact or inhalation of an airborne virus that is carried in rodent feces and that could efficiently pass from one person to another. This theory is being discounted, though, because families and others that have been in close contact with deceased patients have not, so far, shown any symptoms of the disease.
Another theory holds that the cause of the deaths is a chemical contaminant, that could be common to agricultural workers or others living and working near the region's farming community. However, state health workers report that no autopsy results or other chemical tests of patients have confirmed the presence of any known poisons or other toxic substances that could explain the sudden deaths.
An unverified report says that at least one investigator is even considering the possibility that a "genetically-altered bio-agent" has "gotten loose" in the Southwest. Military and government officials, of course, deny the possibility of any such release. But, family members and independent researchers say that they will not "leave any stone unturned" in their attempt to learn the true cause of the deaths.
U.S. Public Health Service officials say that they will to survey more than 200,000 members of the Navajo nation, in an attempt to discover any "commonality" between those previously stricken by the mysterious disease. But, investigators say that members of the Navajo nation are not likely to fully cooperate in the survey, largely due to long held beliefs regarding death and not talking about the ascension of the deceased soul . Public health workers report that they have been unable, so far, to find any place, chemical, water, food, air, or other source of possible contamination that can be commonly attributed to all of the patients that have been taken ill.
(Editor's Note: This entity was later reported to be "Hantavirus", with sporadic outbreaks since this orginal report. It was linked to "rat droppings" with rodents as the disease vector)
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