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In the coastal city of Harran inDying Light, things were once calm and mundane. People lived out their lives normally, and it was just another city in the world. But that all changed one day when the Harran Virus appeared. An entire population was decimated in a short amount of time.
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Neighborhoods disappeared as they were overrun with infected people who had become slabbering monstrosities, devouring their friends and loved ones or infecting them to they spread more of the pathogen. Those that survived the initial outbreak didn’t fare any better, and all communication with the area has since been cut-off. For those brave or reckless enough to venture into the quarantine zone, here’s everything you need to know about the Harran Virus and THV.
What Is The Harran Virus?
The Harran Virus is a biological pathogen that’s described as avariation of rabiesgiven how it affects rapidly deteriorates the brain of an infected patient. But unlike Rabies, it’s much harder to treat and just as deadly if not caught in time. Plus, the infections it causes as not only as easily transmissible as their base strain, butthe side effects of the contagion are far deadlierthan the virus itself.
When someone is exposed to the Harran Virus, they’ll eventuallydegrade into a mindless, highly aggressive, and unstable state. Their skin will necrotize, and they’llresemble Zombies, shuffling around, groaning, and devouring anyone that’s uninfected that they can get their hands on. However, that’s not to say they’re truly Undead. Anyone infected with the Harran Virus is regarded asinfected but still human. In fact, Biters have been known to cry and yell in defense when attacked, showing that there are still remains of the original person somewhere within during those early stages of the Virus’s lifecycle.
Another odd side-effect of the virus worth noting is there is a burning reaction when “Turned” individuals areexposed to UV light. Their cellular structure seems to rapidly react as if it was burning, degrading the exposed tissue extremely quickly. A strange symptom, but it’s useful for corralling orkeeping large groups of Infected away from populated areas.
What Is THV?
The other virus that’s brought up a lot in Dying Light 2 is THV. This isessentially the same as the Harran Virus, but with a few key differences. For starters, it’s amutation of the Harran Virusthat appeared after the GRE developed the Antizen serum for the base strain and it somehow managed to escape from the original lab in Switzerland.
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What makes THV much scarier is that isdeadlier than the Harran Virus and has a higher rate of infection. It’s what triggered the world-ending event known asThe Fall, which wiped out 98 percent of the world’s population in just two years. It’s mentioned frequently in Dying Light 2 as it’s the cause of their current lack of manpower.
Transmission Of The Virus
TheHarran Virus is similar to Rabiesin its transmission vectors in that it can be passed between victims throughfluid transfer. This is normally through bites and saliva contamination on open wounds. Thankfully the pathogen isn’t airborne, but if rendered into a gaseous form in a confined space or ingested as a liquid, it will be just as effective.
The most common form of transmission of the Harran Virus is from aninfected person biting a victim. If they’re not devoured outright, the newly exposed patient will turn in anywhere from a matter of a few hours to a couple of days. Either way, it’s aterminal prognosisonce the infection’s symptoms start to manifest.
Symptoms
Once someone has been bitten by an infected or exposed to the Pathogen you can expect a whirlwind tour of an exotic range of symptoms.All are debilitating and all are extremely common. They’re easy to spot once you know what to look for, obvious gangrenous bite wound aside.
Those infected with either strain of the Harran Virus will experience the following:
Stage One
A general feeling of being unwell. Increased levels of adrenaline. Restlessness andincreased aggression. Blurry vision. Vomiting.
Stage Two
Seizures. Exhaustion. Hallucination. A strongurge to “hunt"the uninfected during nocturnal hours.
Stage Three
The appearance of blisters and blood clots on the skin. Red blood-filled eyes. Tumor-like growths or other mutations. Hair loss. Malnourishment, pale skin, and the appearance of blotches and ruptured blood vessels beneath the surface. Pure,mindless rage.
Once the late-stage symptoms begin to manifest,recovery is impossible. Symptoms can be kept at bay during the early stages with continued use of Antizen, but if doses are missed the infected “turn” soon after.
Progress through the stages of infectionvaries from each individual case. For example, a young boy in the Tower took up to five days to turn, whilst Rahim succumbed within a few minutes. There’s no general consistency, it justdepends on an individual’s immune response to the Virus(or the game’s plot).
There aredifferent infection formsthroughout Harran. These are individuals that have been infected with more mutative strains of the original virus.
Is There A Cure?
Currently, there isno cure for either variant of the Harran Virus. Once infected it’s all but impossible to remove from a subject’s system however, there are ways to stimy the pathogen’s progress and evenkeep it at bay indefinitely.
Antizen is shown to be an exceptionally good inhibitor with patients on regular doses showing minor to no signs of infection progress. As long as continued doses are taken, it seems that those that were bitten can keep the eventual “turning” at bay whilst living a somewhat normal life. However, it’s worth noting that those on Antizenstill carry the pathogen within their system, so transference to non-infected patients is still possible.
Quarantining and continued monitoring of progress with a Biomarker Bracelet is recommended for anyone regularly taking Antizen. If their condition continues to deteriorate, then swift and preferably painless euthanization is recommended by the destruction of the brain or removal of the head.If someone fully turns, then it’s already too late.
