Rakghoul pandemic

"Warning: This is an Imperial News Network emergency alert. There are increasing reports of rakghoul plague outbreak in Imperial space and bordering systems. The infection rate is growing exponentially. Officials indicate the death toll exceeds ten thousand, with many infected still at large. Anyone mutated by the rakghoul plague represents an extreme threat. For your own safety, interstellar travel has been restricted by the Ministry of Logistics."

- An Imperial News Network bulletin

The Rakghoul pandemic was a massive outbreak of the rakghoul plague that occurred around a decade after the Treaty of Coruscant ended the Great Galactic War.

Outbreak
The pandemic began after the Republic cruiser known as the Stardream crashed on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. The cruiser carried with it an animal infected with the plague, which ultimately spread to the other passengers and crew. The ship was disabled over the desert planet and crashed into the Dune Sea, from whence the survivors spread across the planet, infecting tribes of Tusken Raiders and native fauna. The deadly disease also spread into highly populated areas, including Mos Ila and Anchorhead, prompting officials from both the Republic and Sith Empire to initiate a quarantine of the planet and implement travel restrictions across the galaxy. Despite these efforts, tenacious adventurers traveled to and from Tatooine, working to stem the spread of the virus but simultaneously carrying it further from the source.

Alderaan Rakghoul Resurgence
Some time later, an outbreak of the Rakghoul plague was reported on Alderaan. The Hyland Organization for Rakghoul Neutralization issued an official level-2 emergency alert and quarantines was put in place to restrict traffic of the plague off-world. In the context of the Alderaan Civil War, House Organa cited the outbreak's epicenter near King's Pass as an evidence that House Thul and the Sith Empire conspired to use the plague as a bioweapon, while House Thul claimed House Organa implemented the plague to blame them. Nevertheless, House Ulgo was also suspected to releasee the plague, so as to raise tension between those Houses and weaken them for Ulgo's eventual conquest. Anyway, T.H.O.R.N. was recruiting qualified volunteer emergency responders to travel to affected areas to combat the spread of the plague, in particular in the Rakghoul Tunnels.

Behind the scenes
The outbreak of the Rakghoul pandemic was an event in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, which began on April 15, 2012. The Alderaan Rakghoul Resurgence Event then started on January 21 until January 28, 2014.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic