The first holler out is to David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. Along with advice from Judy, an expert friend and Chao-ying, my doctor, Quammen was my source for ideas about the virus.
Quammen’s book details possible zoonotic diseases [they jump from one species to another, specifically animal to human], their aspects and effects. Initially, I thought the 95% mortality rate for the virus in Deserted Lands: All Is Silence was extreme, but it turns out that there are many diseases with this sort of virulence.
One that, thankfully, did not jump to humans is a disease intentionally introduced to reduce the transplanted rabbit population in Australia–myxoma. The disease was initially 99.6% effective. Whew. The virulence of this disease quickly declined as it adapted into multiple strains, but was still about 70% fatal.