Inmortuae Porcus

Inmortuae porcus is a species of Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacteria which is native to the Overworld and was introduced to the Nether by the Oofians.

Role in Disease
I. porcus only causes disease in pigs and related species. Overworld pigs are usually unaffected by the presence of this bacteria on and in their body, as it is a part of both their skin microbiome and their gut microbiome. If the bacterium gets into the blood of the animal in significant amounts, they begin to cause bacteremia and sepsis, eventually causing death in the affected animal. If I. porcus comes in contact with a piglin or hoglin, it has a much different effect. Bacteria quickly colonize the animal as lesions are quickly formed on the skin and in the bodies. Blood eventually begins to clump up with bacterial colonies which release high amounts of copper oxide, causing a green pigment to appear. The bacteria also release an enzyme that breaks down tissue in both hoglins and piglins, causing large ulcers, sores and open wounds to form, many times going so deep that they begin exposing bone. At this point, the bacteria colonize the brain and alter the behavior of the animal.

Piglins in late stages of I. porcus infection become more docile and only attack when provoked. When provoked, the piglins will swarm and become hyper-aggressive. Hoglins in late stages of the infection become mindless and insanely aggressive, attacking everyone and everything in sight. It is unknown why the bacterium causes such different effects in the three different animals that it is able to live in, but scientists have compared the effects of I porcus late stage infection in hoglins to the effects of Insanium on humans.