Cat's Claw was a deadly virus which threatened the population of Los Angeles during the events of Cat's Claw. It was a distant relative of the Ebola virus. Primary symptoms include decomposition of skin and muscle tissue. The skin breaks in such a pattern, that multiple breaks in the skin appear in parallel cuts, as if being scratched by a cat's claw (hence the virus' name). The virus becomes contagious only upon becoming symptomatic with this decomposition. Secondary symptoms prior to the muscle decomposition include headaches and fevers.
Before Cat's Claw[]
The Cat's Claw virus originated from a plant native to the Brazilian Amazon. Dr. Bernard Copeland developed two strains of the virus: the first one, found in a dead body in a body in Minas Gerais, Brasilia, caused death shortly after 24 hours, replicating more slowly. The other was a weaponized strain that kills its host after just 12 hours. Once the primary symptoms of Cat's Claw occurred, no treatment could save the infected person. However, a vaccine known Dragon's Blood was also developed by Dr. Copeland, which could cure the host before the disease becomes symptomatic.
Copeland and the members of the eco-terrorist group called the Monkey Wrench Gang planned on using the virus to attack those deemed enemies of the environment.
Cat's Claw[]
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Copeland infected Kim Bauer as part of his plot. After taking blood samples from Kim, Dr. Celia Alexis discovered that Cat's Claw was a filovirus was related to Ebola. She contacted the Director of NHS, Eli Hollingsworth, who also viewed the sample. At 3:23pm the doctors began to worry, realising that they were dealing with two different viruses, neither of which had vaccines. Jack Bauer injected Kim with the vaccine before the virus became deadly.