 Item number, SCP-340, Object Class, SAFE. Special Containment Procedures SCP-341, 34, and 5 are to be communally housed in a 10 meter by 10 meter by 2.5 meter tank with the water temperature maintained between 25 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius. Antidepressants and broad-spectrum antibiotics are to be administered intravenously every 12 hours. Medicinal compounds may not be added to the standard nutritive paste without approval. All waste products must be properly sterilized. Many personnel who aspirate water from the containment tank must report to medical staff immediately. Description SCP-340 is produced by a human-specific virus, which preferentially colonizes the nasal cavities. The virus cannot be identified according to the Baltimore classification scheme, leading foundation researchers to believe it was engineered by parties as yet unidentified. The presence of genes from both HIV and the SARS coronavirus supports this hypothesis. An incubation period, with a mean duration of three days, occurs upon initial exposure to the virus. Influenza-like symptoms will then develop and will persist for a mean of seven days before clearing up. An increased production of mucus has been observed in all known cases and will persist after other symptoms have ceased. Virulence is highest during the first five days of infection, but viral particles have been detected up to a month after exposure and foundation trials. Many time after infection, a high blood concentration of carbon dioxide will trigger production of SCP-340. When initially produced, SCP-340 is a jelly-like mucus, which extrudes to cover the lower half of the face, including the nose and mouth. SCP-340 and mucus form will undergo a catalytic reaction when immersed in water and will set into a bioplastic membrane. The chemical composition of the bioplastic facilitates the data-expunged process. Although it causes SCP-340 to degrade, the process allows the host to breathe underwater. The membrane is flexible and does not inhibit the host's facial movement. Any tears or holes which develop due to mechanical stress or SCP-340 degradation will be regenerated within 30 seconds due to constant production of SCP-340. The process is drastically reduced in this stage, but viral particles have been detected in water samples contaminated with SCP-340. Environmental contact may still spread the infection. When SCP-340 is exposed to air, it dries into a chitinous substance, similar to crustacean shells. The water vapor trapped inside an SCP-340-sealed respiratory system is sufficient to prevent premature hardening. The hardening process also destroys its ability to data-expunged, and loss of function is irreversible after approximately two minutes' exposure to air. Once fully hardened, SCP-340 is impossible to remove without inflicting major tissue damage. It is harder than any generally known organic substance. A standard tungsten carbide drill bit required more than 15 minutes of constant use to drill a hole through 5 mm of dried SCP-340. Research is ongoing into methods for the in vitro culture and harvest of SCP-340 for use in industrial applications. Addendum 341, Circumstances of Retrieval On date undisclosed, 12 students at a boarding school in United States began to produce SCP-340 during a swimming competition. Nine died before a Foundation containment team could be dispatched to the site. Five suffocated when attempts to clear airways of hardened SCP-340 failed. Two suffocated after attempts to open alternate airways induced hardening of air-exposed SCP-340 in the trachea, and two died from dehydration. Upon arrival, the Foundation containment team quarantined the school until the infection spread could be determined. Four additional cases were discovered who were not yet producing SCP-340. All seven were taken into Foundation custody. The team then distributed class-A amnestics and followed COVERA procedure Gimmel II, the Tragic Fires scenario. Addendum 342, SCP-340 doesn't kill the host's oral bacteria and the antibiotics can't stave off infection forever. Stable removal of the host's teeth will be safer in the long run than trying to deal with abscesses, bone infection, and sepsis. Do we have a laparoscopic surgeon on staff? Dr. Cairns. Document 341 Inventory, SCP-341 through 7 SCP-341 Caucasian Male Agent Retrieval 12 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Positive Notes Housed at Site SCP-342 African American Male Agent Retrieval 12 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Positive Notes Deceased Complications from Surgical Insertion of Feeding Tube SCP-343 Caucasian Male Agent Retrieval 11 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Positive Notes Housed at Site SCP-344 Hispanic Male Agent Retrieval 12 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Negative Notes Underwent Experimental Treatment Treatment Failed SCP-340 Production Induced Housed at Site SCP-345 Caucasian Male Agent Retrieval 27 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Negative Notes Refused Experimental Treatment Voluntarily Induced SCP-340 Production Housed at Site SCP-346 Caucasian Male Agent Retrieval 12 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Negative Notes Underwent Experimental Treatment Treatment Failed SCP-340 Production Induced Deceased Voluntarily Self-Termination SCP-347 Caucasian Male Agent Retrieval 13 SCP-340 Production at Retrieval Negative Notes Underwent Experimental Treatment Treatment Initially Believed Successful Deceased Suffocation Due to Unexpected SCP-340 Production Lesson Complete If you missed the previous orientation, go watch SCP-339. Be silent. Be still. Right now. Or for the complete course, watch this playlist.