| A condition common on the planet Valakis in the mid 22nd century. The plague was a genetic illness suffered by a large proportion of the Valakian population - in 2149 some 12 million people died of it, and by 2151 roughly one third of the entire Valakian population suffered from it. The Valakians sought help from more advanced species, a call to which the NX-01 responded after discovering a Valakian sub warp ship in deep space. [1] The Valakians treated the condition with a synthetic antibody, but although it was effective at first the disease mutated and moved into the respiratory system after a time, at which point it became uncontrollable. Pulmonary failure usually followed within a few days. Treatment with priaxate eased the symptoms in severe cases, at least temporarily. [1] Ultimately it was discovered that the proteins which bind to Valakian chromosomes were deteriorating, a process which had been going on for thousands of years and was now accelerating. The Menk, another intelligent species which lived on the same planet, were immune to the condition, which was expected to result in the extinction of the Valakians by the 24th century. Although Dr. Phlox was able to find a cure for the genetic plague, both he and Captain Archer decided to classify the situation as a natural evolution of the species involved, and thus declined to give the Valakians the solution. They thus condemned the entire species to eventual extinction. [1] |
