Elf Plague

Information Medical Incident Elf Plague Involved Location(s) Merlin’s Magical Hospital, House Elf Placement Agency Lore Credit(s) xMye, myriadofanger

Overview

In the 1830s, a rogue disease now known as the Elf Plague sent the magical community into a panicked frenzy. The origins of this disease are unclear, but people speculate that it could have occurred due to an Elf being bitten by a rabid rodent, such as a rat, mouse or even the fleas they carried; or un-sanitised living conditions and poor diets.

Once an Elf is infected, they become extremely unpredictable, unmanageable and stealthy. This means unsuspecting wizards and witches are at larger risk of being attacked. Attacks do not cause long-lasting health conditions but, once a magical individual is bitten or scratched, they will start developing an excruciating rash and blisters followed by hallucinations and paranoia. These symptoms can last anywhere from three to six months if untreated. If treated within forty-eight hours, the effects will slowly fade over two to three weeks.

Due to the way this plague is contracted, the disease has since embedded itself into the Elf species' DNA, causing it to lay dormant for years. Once awoken, it can rapidly spread, unleashing its true effects.

Symptoms

Symptoms of this disease come in stages, though each case can skip certain stages, becoming terminal immediately.

Stage One – Stuffy nose, vomiting, dizziness, and a fever-like temperature. They also begin to develop hives all over their body, commonly mistaken for chickenpox.

Stage Two – Unpredictable and unmanageable behaviour alongside disorientation. Infected Elves also lose all sense of being, including where and who others are. This is followed by an increase in speed and irrational body movements. 

Stage Three – The last stage involves all of the following symptoms; however, they lastly develop uncontrollable rage, a vile odour and a taste for unsavoury “foods”. Infected Elves also start foaming at the mouth, lose the ability to form words and their appearance becomes similar to a goblin, but smaller in height.

The Case of Tinesi

The first documented case of this fast-growing disease was in Cameroon, Africa. Tinesi, a female Elf who lived and worked on a wheat grain farm for the wealthy Kengne family, suddenly came down with what was thought to be a common cold. This was later followed by what was thought to be chickenpox. However, her ever-growing symptoms proved to be more sinister. 

Tinesi was known for being an extremely caring and kind Elf, always offering to help the Kengne’s children with their needs in her free time. She was also known to be hard-working, even taking on extra work around the farm. When she became unwell, it took a toll on the entire farm and the workload of the other Elves.

At first, Tinesi was showing symptoms linked to a common cold; however, once she began developing hives, those around her thought it was a simple case of chickenpox. This did not last for long, as she soon began externalising aggressive behaviour and unnatural body movements towards the Kengne’s children when they visited her, resulting in them being strictly prohibited from seeing her until she was well again. 

Over the following month, Tinesi became unrecognisable, both behaviourally and in her appearance. Unfortunately, the Kengne family had no other choice but to hand her over to the Ministry of Magicians when she attacked one of their children. Fortunately, the child recovered in a couple of weeks with the help of homemade remedies. Tinesi was sent to doctors who specialised in tuberculosis, hoping that they would isolate her to figure out what would work best to help her. To some extent, this worked, but what eventually happened to Tinesi is a mystery. Unbeknownst to the Kengne family, the other Elves they housed had also contracted the disease, rapidly running the wheat farm to the ground. 

As a result of these events, the outbreak of the Elf Plague had quickly spread to other continents of the world. The Ministry took all necessary procedures that they could think of to eradicate this disease. However, due to the lengths they had to go, this caused the Elf species to plummet in numbers. Approximately 70% of infected Elves unfortunately met their fate.

Modern Times

Today, there is a cure to help unfortunate Elves when this disease awakens within them, but its success rate is only 40%. Those who do not seek treatment in time will, unfortunately, meet their demise.

Trivia

• You can attend a Medical Magic class hosted by the Academics team to learn about the Elf Plague and various other magical diseases and remedies.