Day 63 of the Outbreak
European Centre for Disease Control – Emergency Briefing Transcript (Excerpt)
"...our most recent findings suggest CRV-3 is not a viral or bacterial pathogen. Current research points to a parasitic microorganism, possibly a new class of airborne eukaryote. Infection occurs via respiratory exposure, followed by internal colonization of the host's nervous or organ systems.
At this time, we are classifying CRV-3 as a Class 5 Biohazard under airborne parasitic threat response."
"Public health measures will escalate immediately."
The words hit the world like a dropped match in dry grass.
Public Response: Panic, Misinformation, Resistance
The term "airborne parasite" spread faster than the pathogen itself.
News outlets ran non-stop coverage. Some compared CRV-3 to toxoplasmosis. Others invoked ancient plagues. Internet forums exploded with conspiracy theories: that it was engineered, that it wasn't real, that the government was hiding a cure, that vaccines were secretly spreading it.
In major cities surgical masks and improvised respirators vanished from shelves pesticides and antiparasitic sprays were hoarded.
Urban pet abandonment skyrocketed, with shelters overwhelmed several countries banned animal imports and exports outright pet euthanasia riots occurred in parts of eastern Europe.
And still, most infected humans recovere…but the fear had taken root.
Medical Shifts: Parasite-Focused Protocols
Hospitals, clinics, and field labs pivoted instantly antiparasitic medications like ivermectin and praziquantel were tested on human and animal patients with no effect.
Special disinfection tunnels were installed at border checkpoints and airports new testing focused on blood toxicity, spinal scans, and neurological markers, but results remained inconsistent no known antiparasitic treatment slowed progression or prevented infection.
Dr. Mariel Kessler was invited to multiple international panels to present her findings.
At every meeting, she said the same thing:
"It behaves like a parasite. It moves like one. But the host responses are unpredictable. Some animals show aggression. Others, complete shutdown. In humans, symptoms are mostly neurological but we haven't identified a direct transmission mechanism beyond air exposure."
Still, no one questioned the parasite theory not yet.
Government Control Measures: Containment & Animal Restrictions
By Week 10:
Pets were no longer allowed in hospitals, markets, or public spaces quarantine camps for strays were built in major cities all sewer access points in urban districts were sealed or rerouted.
Urban fumigation campaigns began using thermal foggers to "flush out nests."
Large portions of infrastructure were reclassified as biohazard zones, especially old train tunnels, basements, and storm drains.
One senior health minister in Italy famously said:
"We must treat our cities as though they are infested not with rats, but with the air itself."
The phrase became a hashtag:
#AirborneInfestation
Economic Fallout & Culture Shifts
Tourism collapsed.
Cargo transit slowed.
Home delivery services and remote work surged.
Pets were no longer bought they were hidden. Or abandoned. Or worse.
In entertainment and media, horror stories about "mind-controlling parasites" and "spinal growths" filled books, news, and short films. An underground group online claimed "the cores" were eggs, and that people would eventually hatch something.
Doctors like Mariel and Yun dismissed these claims there was no evidence CRV-3 caused growths in humans.
But then again, most infected humans weren't autopsied in the Background: The Real Threat Still Unseen
Despite massive effort, CRV-3 kept spreading.
No patient zero. No mutation trail.
Only symptoms, speculation, and mounting noise and while the world fought what it thought was a parasite, the thing that had once cured cancer was learning something new
how to use fear.
You cannot cure what you don't understand.
And the world had just named its enemy wrong.
It wasn't a worm.
It wasn't a plague.
It wasn't even alive not yet.
But it was adapting.