Shanti Virus

The Shanti Virus is a life threatening disease that attacks the nervous system.

General Information
Many strains of the Shanti Virus exist, though only three have been mentioned.

Mohinder Suresh has antibodies in his blood that are the cure the original strain of the Shanti Virus, though by mixing it with Claire Bennet's blood, due to Claire's rapid cell regeneration, Mohinder's antibodies "become stronger", becoming capable of curing other strains of the Shanti Virus.

Original Strain
According to Victoria Pratt, the first and original strain of the Shanti Virus was discovered in Shanti Suresh on February 14th, 1977.

The effects of the original Shanti Virus are harmful if not treated and can block an evolved human's abilities.

The only known cure is Mohinder's blood, which contains antibodies capable of destroying the Shanti Virus.

Because of the lack of specific equipment against contamination when treating patients, the Shanti Virus appears to not be contagious through inhalation.

According to Mohinder, only evolved humans are vulnerable to the original strain of the Shanti Virus.

Unknown Strain
A mutated strain of the original Shanti Virus is used by the Company to block the abilities of evolved humans without any apparent harm to the subject (similar to the ability negation pills).

Besides this effect, this strain of the Shanti Virus appears to be asymptomatic; infected characters don't show any visible sign of health damage.

This strain cannot be cured by the the antibodies in Mohinder's blood, but by mixing it with Claire's, the antibodies change and can destroy this Shanti Virus.

When Sylar was infected and cured of the Shanti Virus, he didn't fully regain his stolen abilities: aside from his natural intuitive aptitude and his stolen telekinesis, he lost all his acquired powers.

Strain 138
Strain 138 was created through biological engineering.

Strain 138 is the only known strain of the Shanti Virus able to infect humans.

Strain 138 is life threatening, and due to its high contamination rate, it was capable of killing 93% of the world's population in the Outbreak Timeline.

Strain 138 has the property of remaining dormant and undetectable once it has infected a victim, capable of suddenly becoming active.

Strain 138 has no known cure.

Since Peter Petrelli destroyed the only known vial of Strain 138 in Powerless, Strain 138 is likely to be extinct.

Original Strain

 * Molly Walker (cured)
 * René (cured)
 * Shanti Suresh (succumbed)

Unkno​wn Strain

 * Niki Sanders (deceased due to unrelated causes)
 * Sylar (cured)

Strain 138

 * Nathan Petrelli (Outbreak Timeline) (succumbed)
 * 93% of the world's population in the Outbreak Timeline (succumbed)