[at_a_remove]

We know how to treat it now, but originally it was, yes, quite a bit of bad news. So much so that it was used as an esoteric murder weapon in a mystery novel.

I think part of the, hrm, atmosphere of terror surrounding it is the delayed onset of symptoms, in the rabies "by the time you can tell, you're in deep kaka" sense. That and its ability to just slide through a lot of protection.