2044 Carolina Flu Pandemic (Pax Philadelphiae)

The 2044 Carolina Flu Pandemic was a global pandemic that lasted from February 2044 until January 2045. The first few cases were identified in the city of Durham, North Carolina after the Liberty US bioweapon was leaked into the public. The bioweapon was so effective that it led to 1,000,000 deaths across the world within a span of just 2 weeks with high infectivity that was mortal to all people regardless of age. By the summer of 2044 over 2 billion people were dead and many governments had collapsed. The pandemic would end by January 2045 with 99.7% of the world's population dead and with there being too few people for the virus to spread to.

Pre-2044
The origins of the Carolina Flu can be traced back to the discovery of the UN's Wuhan Probe in 2023 confirming that SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus was a Chinese bioweapon that was accidentally leaked into the public in late 2019. With US-Chinese relations already souring, there were talks within the intelligence community and secretive military leadership about the necessity for the US to develop a bioweapon of their own to counter any future potential Chinese bioweapons. The election of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2028 would lead to these efforts coming to fruition with the beta versions of the Carolina being developed sometime throughout early 2030.

Pandemic (2044-2045)
The first outbreak of the virus occurred in the student body of Duke University on February 10th, 2044. It was asserted by President Erik Finman that the bioweapon was smuggled out of the Military Complex in Wilmington and brought to Durham where it was released on the campus of Duke University in an act of Chinese sabotage against the research University and the United States. By the end of February, Durham was in an anarchic state and was overwhelmed by the cases and death to the point where corpses piled across the city streets. Less than 3 days after the outbreak, the US entered a state of emergency and several states went into lockdown.

Despite states going into lockdown, President Erik Finman was hesitant to declare a nationwide lockdown due to his principled libertarianism and unknowing that the Carolina Flu was a leaked bioweapon. Older Americans and sour memories of the COVID-19 lockdowns 2 decades prior also created hesitancy to take action. But 2 days after the initial outbreak, the Finman declared a nationwide lockdown as the devastation by the Carolina Flu became more obvious, though it was too late by that point. By February 15th, 2044, cases were reported in all 50 states and 40 countries as hysteria spread across the United States. Densely populated nations such as India, China, and much of Western Africa suffered drastically with deaths exceeding 400,000 happening mere weeks after the virus spread to those nations.

Due to the fast-spreading and lethality of the virus, the World Health Organization declared the Carolina Flu a pandemic only 5 days after the initial outbreak in Durham. The Chinese government blamed the virus on the United States while the United States blamed the virus on China. Though there were fears of escalation between the US and China over the virus, these fears were short lived as both nations became plagued with instability as the virus continued to spread.

Aftermath
After a year of spreading, the virus had destroyed most of humanity and civilization had collapsed.