The Oroborus virus was an accidental disease that was created by the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century.
Overview[]
The virus was noted as being opportunistic pneumococcal mimic that was only capable of affecting species that shared characteristics of Humanoids of the Romulan and Vulcan genotype. After infection, the effects of the virus were reported to be incredibly fast. It had a typical growth pattern for an L-type virus and was able to infect a host instantly on exposure either through contact or by the air. The symptoms that followed were tissue dehydration whereupon pneumal flooding occurred. The mortality rate of the virus was 6 in 10. At the time of its creation, there was no known treatment.
The name of disease came from the mythical world snake that swallowed its own tail
History[]
Created at the ARK-7 starbase in the 2260s, the virus was the creation of Doctor Carol Marcus who's mission was the classified study of the mysteries of life. During their experimentation, they accidentally created a virus that had potentially harmful affects on Vulcanoid biology and thus was dangerous to the Romulan as well as Vulcan races. This virus was called the Oroborus virus which accidentally spilt in the facility which required a clean up operation at the time. An attempt was made to sterilize the facility and destroy the virus after which Dr. Marcus wanted to erase all data about the virus in order to prevent it from being created again.
In the year of its creation, the facility where the virus was created was attacked by vessels belonging to the Romulan Star Empire who believed that Starfleet were attempting to create a bio-weapon against them. Attacking the facility, the civilian scientists were saved by the arrival of the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. Beaming onto the facility, however, led to the inadvertent exposure of science officer Spock to the virus. It was only the timely intervention of medical officer Leonard McCoy who managed to find a cure for the virus through exposure to ammonia. After curing Spock, the crew of the USS Enterprise also cured the Romulan invaders that had boarded the facility and allowed them to leave in peace. (TOS video game: 25th Anniversary)