Insanium

**Insanium** is a bio-engineered, negative-sense, single strand RNA virus created by the Oofians during the Oofian War and has since caused major problems in areas where it has spread since its inception in 2019.

## Virology

### Structure

Insanium virions have a cylindrical shape. All of the viruses' RNA is enclosed within a capsid made of oligomeric structural subunits called protomers, which are made of various proteins.

### Strains

Insanium has 2 main genetically distinct strains. These are Insanium-A and Insanium-B. Insanium-A is much less transmissible on aerosols than Insanium-B, which spreads rapidly and efficiently through aerosols, making it much more dangerous. It is currently unknown if Insanium-B causes different symptoms than Insanium-A.

### Infection and Transmission

Insanium can enter the human body through 3 main routes. These are breathing in aerosols (much more common with Insanium-B), consuming contaminated food or water, or via the saliva or blood of an infected person or animal.

#### Asymptomatic Transmission

Scientists currently believe that asymptomatic transmission of Insanium is not a factor in transmission of the disease.

## Role In Disease

Insanium is known to affect most species of animals, but the most extreme effects are found in humans. When a human is first infected by the virus, the human is usually asymptomatic, but some begin to feel flu like symptoms, such as a cough or sore throat. People who cough help to spread the virus via aerosols. In later stages of infection, small blood clots, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound and irritability begin to appear. In the last stages of infection, the infected human becomes extremely aggressive, as the virus infects neurons and greatly restricts their ability to produce serotonin. As serotonin becomes more depleted, the infected person is compelled to bite or attack other people, spreading the virus even more. Lesions on many parts of the body as well as rashes and ulcers also begin to appear, along with the discoloration of skin. Brain inflammation and spinal cord inflammation may also occur, causing headaches and spinal cord pain. Finally, both norepinephrine and dynorphin are released in the blood. Norepinephrine both increases heart rate and vasoconstricts blood vessels, causing the infected to become more erratic. The dynorphin released is in incorrect amounts for the body, causing chronic pain in some areas but lack of all pain in other areas. Due to the death of neurons, motor skills and intelligence are often impaired, and dementia-like symptoms may begin to appear alongside the aggression as the brain begins to degenerate further.

## History of Outbreaks and Epidemics

### Oofian War Outbreak

The Oofian War outbreak was started after the virus was bio engineered in an Oofian laboratory. The virus was deployed in Admin Town where it was put into the drinking water supply. Soon, many people who lived in Admin Town became infected. Those who were infected became aggressive and attempted to infect others by biting or scratching due to the virus affecting their mental state. The Oofian outbreak ended after a few months, as towns that were infected were locked down and nobody was allowed to leave. The ICC was also created around this time to kill off the infected and secure areas. The virus was eradicated from human populations, but was still circulating among small animals.

### 2020 Insanium Epidemic

*Main Article: 2020 Insanium Epidemic*

A small amount of Insanium virions survived for a year and mutated within animals, before spreading to a rabbit which bit a human in the small desert town of Tumbleweed, Noopaland. The virus crossed the species barrier and mutated once again to infect humans. Travelers to and from Tumbleweed spread the virus further to other small towns in the area. Noopian ICC units and other members of the Noopian Armed Forces were deployed to Tumbleweed after a distress signal was sent on March 6th, 2020. The ICC managed to clear Tumbleweed of the infected and control outbreaks in other towns. It took approximately 2 months to contain this epidemic.

### Oren Epidemic

*Main Article: Orien Insanium Epidemic*

An Insanium-A virus outbreak occurred in Oren. It is currently believed that the virus was spread to Oren via trade routes with other nations. The Orien government ordered its army to push the infected through dark portals in order to expel them from the kingdom, some of which, ended up in other nations. It is unknown if this lead to the infection of other people.

### Noopian Airborne Insanium Epidemic

A novel strain of Insanium, known now as Insanium-B, was found in Noopaland after [REDACTED]. Westerly winds have spread the virus to Noop City. This novel strain of the virus was able to be transported and spread via gas-like aerosols that can be transported and dispersed by wind. It is currently advised that all residents stay indoors and do not open windows, doors or other openings to the insides. A facility producing the gaseous material was found and destroyed on Monday, February 1st, 2021. In this raid, another strain of Insanium was discovered, as well as the motives of Group Z, who wants to restore the planet to a state without human life and let nature reclaim the world. Two more production facilities were discovered along with a transport cargo vessel carrying the virus, all of which were raided and destroyed.