Hooded, cloaked and clearly very thin with red-rimmed bloodshot eyes just visible if one chooses to get close enough to look. His skin is paper thin and covered in what appears to be rampant psoriasis; large, crusty white patches cover almost all of his body, concealing just how dark his skin originally was. He tends to wear his sleeves long to hide his hands, one of which is always un-gloved; if the opportunity for skin-to-skin contact arises, he wants to be ready. Under the hood, his hair is lank and faded to grey; he is balding in places, though a shadow of his former vanity prevents him from shaving his head.

When contracted, the symptoms of PK47 are as follows:
Approximately ten to twenty minutes after infection:
- a burning sensation around the eyes. This is followed by redness and inflammation of the eyelids and overproduction of tears.
- inflammation of the soft pallet, discomfort when swallowing.
- a dry cough.
These symptoms commonly last no longer than an hour.

Approximately twelve hours after infection:
- elevated body temperature.
- dehydration.
- dry, itchy eyes and mouth.

It can take between 72 hours and a week for the characteristic white, horse-shoe shaped lesions to appear, and they can cover anything between 1% and 70% of the body. They are painful to touch, dry, and leak a translucent white fluid when cracked, as they are prone to do. The lesions last for several days before clearing up, though they scar badly. More lesions erupt even as the previous spate are healing. A bout tends to last for two weeks before there is an intermission period and then a relapse.

The plague can take several months to be eliminated from the body of a healthy individual; those weaker or more susceptible can suffer several years and have recurrent relapses.

The illness does not kill, though it weakens the immune system of the sufferer considerably.