View source for Great Pandemic of 2049

The Great Pandemic of 2049 refers to the release of the hybrid [[Chimeravirus]] by religious extremists in 2049.  The pandemic nearly caused the extinction of the human race in less than six months, but nearly 100 million people survived due to [[Microbots|Asamov Immuno-Supplementation Microbots]].

The [[Chimeravirus]] was developed by an unknown Russian geneticist in 2048.  Commissioned by the Christian extremist group [[4 Horsemen]], the geneticist created a hybrid of [[Human Immunodeficiency Virus]] and [[Filoviridae|Ebolavirus]], two of the deadliest viruses at the time, and combined them with [[Paramyxoviridae|Respiratory Syncytial Virus]], an airborne virus that causes lower respiratory infections.  [[4 Horsemen]] intended to use the virus as a terrorist weapon in their cause to bring about the apocalypse, but records show that even they were not prepared for how deadly the virus would be.

[[Patient Zero]] was [[Eugene Reyes]], a member of 4 Horsemen who called himself “Pestilence,” after the first of the [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]].  Living in [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]], he purposefully infected himself with the virus with the intention of infecting everyone in the Middle East, where 4 Horsemen believed the final battle between the Antichrist and Jesus would take place, and eventually the world.  He died three weeks later, when the pandemic was just becoming to be apparent.

The virus spread quickly, becoming a pandemic within weeks of the first cases being reported.  Scientists raced to find a way to contain and cure the virus, but the highly virulent nature (classified [[Biosafety Level 4]] by the CDC) of the virus made study difficult.  It became apparent, though, that AIDS and cancer patients who had received [[Microbots|Asamov Immuno-Supplementation Microbots]] as part of their treatment were immune to the disease.  Once this was known, doctors tried to use the microbots as treatment for the Chimeravirus, only to find that the virus replicated faster than the microbots, overpowering the microbots ability to destroy the virus particles. 

The Pandemic was over in less than six months, leaving a population of around 100 million humans.  Because all of these remaining humans had microbots, the virus died out, unable to find hosts to infect.  The decimated population slowly began to rebuild the human race again.