"For every innovation in biological medicine, we did not anticipate abiotic conditions to be an issue"

Statistics:

Time period: 3800s-4000s

Total cases: 40 billion (estimated)

Total deaths: 8 billion (estimated)

The Sutherian Flu is the name given to both a massive outbreak of pathogenic autonomous assembly, and the specific strain responsible. The name comes from the Sutherian system, where the first reported cases occurred at. Symptoms include weakness, dizziness, cysts along the thighs and biceps, anemia, internal bleeding, and in severe cases, organ failure, paralysis, and death. The disease progresses when airborne, spaceborn, or grounded particles of the strain enter the body via orifices, in which they will enter the bloodstream and attempt to convert the body into more of itself. Due to the nature of autonomous assemblies, the immune response is typically ineffective, and electromagnetic treatment is often required to disable or destroy the assemblies. Medical nanomachines are also used to clean up crippled pathogens or fight them off to avoid accumulation in the bloodstream leading to hemochromatosis. 

The strain was first developed in 3786 by the now defunct Sutherian Khaganate as a bio-weapon to combat Clementinan and Calorian aggression. However, the strain proved especially volatile, stealthily escaping lab containment and infecting large swaths of the system's population over the course of several years, remaining undetected due to the number of asymptomatic cases. By the time the flu was detected, three out of four inhabitants of the Sutherian system were infected, most of whom would die of their condition. The rapid depopulation of Sutheria allowed for easy annexation by the Calor Khaganate and later the Hagbeadi Empire. In the case of Calorian occupation, the disease followed a similar pattern of asymptomatic cases as it spread back to the Calor heartlands and beyond via clashes with Dolesmos and Clementina. As the Clementinan Khagante expanded across the Gergosphere, so did the Sutherian Flu. Often, systems recently occupied by the khaganate would suffer massive population loss from infection. It is believed the flu spread as far as Urban in modern-day Kyrnomacek, and as far as Neopolis. Maritime outbreaks of the flu weakened the crews of war vessels, partially contributing to the Clementinan defeat in the Gap Campaign. A similar phenomenon occurred amongst fighters on both sides of the Terran Crusades, though statistics among Brotherhooder flu casualties are difficult to come by.

Fortunately, as early as 3850 were treatments developed for the Sutherian Flu, allowing for many well-developed systems to suffer minimal damage from the disease. Reluctance from recently conquered systems, wartime priorities, and the isolating nature of space hindered the spreading of these treatments to worlds outside the Clementinan core region, resulting in many preventable deaths and economic damages. The spread of the flu may have also contributed to the Snorx diaspora among remote worlds, as well as their isolationist culture. The Sutherian Flu is still present in voids where heavy Clementinan naval casualties occured, such as the sites of major space battles. In Kyrnomacek, an estimated 20,000 people contract the Sutherian Flu, mainly in the Grimlands.