Forum: scifi.stackexchange.com
Tags: <star-wars><star-wars-legends>
Title: Are there any serious diseases in the Star Wars universe?
Question: Are there any serious diseases in the Star Wars universe, like cancer or other diseases which are incurable?

Answers:
sents: text: The rakghoul plague.
text: The rakghoul plague or rakghoul disease was a disease engineered by the ancient Sith Lord Karness Muur, it could turn most nearby sentient beings into a mindless rakghoul, a Sith-spawned mutant.
text: The virus-like plague, carried by every rakghoul in existence at the time, could be spread to another being by a bite or a scratch from a rakghoul's claw.
text: The victim would then suffer through an incubation period lasting approximately six to forty-eight hours before being transformed into a rakghoul, one fully capable of spreading the Sith-made disease on to further victims.
text: - Wookieepedia
text: Like with many serious diseases in real world, there have been cases of it being cured in early stages of incubation, but once one turned into rakghoul, it was incurable.
text: This is in Legends.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/89198/Worse_Username
score: 20
sents: text: The Blue Shadow Virus was an artificially produced virus, created by the CIS on Naboo, during The Clone Wars tv show.
text: I remember there being a three or four-part episode around it.
text: It was deadly to most organisms.
text: Does this count?
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/78993/minidave2014
score: 8
sents: text: Hive viruses were a broad category of highly contagious viruses which would remain dormant in the host for some time before symptoms began to appear.
text: A hive virus in its dormant stage is still contagious, and thus the virus could spread rapidly through a group before it became obvious that anyone was sick.
text: In the Legends continuity, a hive virus was responsible for the loss of the Katana fleet .
text: By the time they realized that an epidemic was underway, the virus had spread throughout the crews of all of the 200 dreadnaughts in the fleet.
text: The virus drove the crews insane and eventually killed them, leaving the fleet abandoned in an unknown location.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/58731/user45623
score: 3
sents: text: In the X-Wing series (part of Star Wars Legends), the Imperial Director of Intelligence engineers the Krytos virus, and the New Republic has to devise a cure while using vast amounts of bacta to keep the victims alive (if I recall correctly, bacta can stave off the symptoms, but not cure the virus).
text: It's mostly mentioned in the third book of the X-Wing series, The Krytos Trap .
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/82782/GuardianAnubite
score: 3
sents: text: The Legends novel Legacy of the Force: Betrayal features a man named Movac Arisster who is dying of incurable cancer.
text: I'm a nobody
text: and I'm dying.
text: In six months, incurable cancers of the lungs and other organs, probably caused by a radiation leak I experienced on a trip many years ago, will kill me.
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/51226/Rogue Jedi
score: 2
sents: text: Another example is Jedi Master Taria Damsin , who is dying from Borotavi syndrome .
text: It is basically described as cancer, including terminology like 'remission'.
text: “
text: So,” said Taria, once they were seated in a private booth with bowlsof steaming bean soup and fresh, crusty bread.
text: The dining hall’s airwas warm and scented with good food.
text: Scattered, cheerful conversationsprovided a backdrop of sound.
text: “To make a long story short, Ahsoka,it’s called Borotavi syndrome.
text: It’s not contagious but it is terminal.
text: Eventually.”
text: Ahsoka felt her mouth suck dry.
text: Terminal?
text: But—but—She’s
text: so young andstrong and amazing.
text: So alive.
text: “How did you get it?”
text: “I ate the wrong kind of shellfish on Pamina Prime.”
text: With a wry smileTaria stirred a pinch of salt into her soup.
text: “Turns out it’s theblue-shelled mollusk with the green stripe you need to watch out for.
text: Blue mollusks with black stripes you can eat till you burst.”
text: She satback.
text: “Just a little tip to stand you in good stead, if ever you findyourself on Pamina Prime.” Star Wars Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth
answer_details: author: scifi.stackexchange.com/users/90672/Mara
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
There are a number of serious diseases mentioned in the Star Wars universe. These include the Rakghoul Plague, the Blue Shadow Virus, Hive viruses and Borotavi syndrome.
There are many serious diseases in the Star Wars universe, including rakghoul plague, blue shadow virus and hive virus, and there is also cancer.