Burn Slowly

Even though typhoid fever (greek typho, „to burn slowly“) has been treated very effectively since the beginning of the antibiotic era, the global annual incidence of the disease is estimated at 11–21 million cases and 128,000 to 161,000 deaths. So being aware of typhoid is still very relevant. And since the disease occurs highest among people living in places with poor sanitation and hygiene, which often goes with lower education, this project tries to find ways to make the symptoms for everybody relatable.

If untreated the course of the the fever can be divided in three phases:

1st week:
The patient’s body temperature rises slowly and fever fluctuations are seen with headache and cough.

2nd week:
The person is often too tired to get up and high fever occurs.

3rd week:
A very high fever that oscillates very little over 24 hours and dehydration leads to a delirium state.

The project presents a new way to communicate a disease by making the feeling of the illness tangible in a digital framework. It is an experimental, experienceable representation of the course of typhoid fever. The animation visualizes these phases through the use of color and motion. Furthermore, a low frequency sound, which is inaudible to the human ear, causes nausea and discomfort.