#spontaneous human combustion

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The Peculiarium in Portland, Oregon

The Peculiarium in Portland, Oregon

Bad news from the Circle of Sorcerous Chirurgeons [SCS], the AWC’s leading panel of magical healthcare providers and direct advisors to the Bureau of Conversation and Magical Resources [CMR] as well as the Department of Magical Research and Development [MRD]. According to recent studies, Floo-Fever, or “Combustion Cough” as it is sometimes referred to, has started to see a resurgence in North America due to Mage parents refusing to have their children inoculated against the sickness. Rumors and concerns that the inoculation may lead to otherwise magical children manifesting as Squibs have started making their way through less reputable news sources in recent years and embraced by certain sectors of magical society. While Muggleborn children are still immunized immediately upon discovery against sicknesses like Floo-Fever and Dragon Pox which one ravaged the magical world, children born into Wizarding families are not processed in the same way – their parents being considered responsible for receiving such treatment for their children either through a private doctor or through the offices of the Department of Secrecy and Obfuscation, who can administer the treatment with an appointment.

Outcry in recent years against the inoculation has seen a remarkable unification of the departments that are technically in charge of monitoring magical health and wellness: The DSO through its monitoring of population trends and protection of the Statute of Secrecy, the MRD through its continued studies of magical ailments, and the CMR as a protector of magical resources including, apparently, the magical population itself. Though normally torn through interoffice politics and differing goals, the representatives of these three large and influential agencies have released a joint memorandum supporting the mandatory inoculation of all AWC Mages and have petitioned Congress to pass a law making such a thing so. Congress, however, has stalled on the issue as questions of personal freedom and other concerns, such as religious or cultural beliefs, are weighed against national security and protecting the Statute of Secrecy.

As readers may or may not know, Dragon Pox and Floo-Fever were once normal causes of death in wizards and witches of all ages before preventatives and treatments were developed in the 20^th century. Floo-fever was especially dangerous as the sudden fiery apparitions not only left many wizards and witches crippled through traumatized splinching, but reinforced and potentially even led to the Muggle belief if spontaneous combustion…

Floo-Fever on Rise as More Mages Refuse Inoculation – Miranda Babble, The Boston Bibliomancer