Imaginary Virus for a game

[Jon M. Erickson]

    Hi, I'm currently running a ShadowRun campaign, where an 
airborn virus escapes, and they players have to find the cure,
 and I need some help.  When I started I really didn't think 
about WHAT the virus was, what it did, and I really didn't 
exspect anyone to try to find a cure for the virus by themselves.
  Anyways, The virus first makes you feel very weak
and tired.  Then later it infects the nervous system, and anyone
with "cyberware" gets suggestions to hack systems for a certain
organization, by messing with the frontal lobe.  After some of
the player who were big bio buffs, started trying to pick apart
the virus, I decided I had better do some reserch.  So far this is
what I have:
  The virus attacks the bone marrow, and infects it.  However it
doesn't destroy the cells.  It mearly changes what it does.  The
marrow then produces mutated erythocytes, which quickly take 
over the blood stream, as the old ones are destroyed by the liver 
and spleen.  Here I had 2 ideas.  
        1) The new erythrocytes keep thier nuclei, therefore lowering
 the percentage of hemoglobin in the cell, and makeing everyone
weak and tired because of O2 depleation.  (as with CO poisoning).
 Also the extra nuclei would serve as an excellent breeding ground
 for the virus, as there are approx 5 million of them, per mm^3 of 
blood.  Then the virus in the blood would mutate sligtly to attack the
nerve cells, and those with "cyberware" (cyberware in game
terms includes a "datajack" which allows the player to
interact with "The Matrix" in a direct VR interface.  I
figure that a device like this would have to break the
brain-blood barrier, and allow the virus to infect the brain
from there).  And teh new virus would simply keep the synapses
from fireing.
2) My second idea, was a single virus that stays in the marrow.
It would make new erythrocytes with highly modified heme cytochrome.
It would be based on another ion, besides Fe, that couldn't do
the Fe(II)-Fe(III) valence change, and therefore couldn't
absorb O2.  Instead, it would absorb Cl ions from the plasma in
the blood, and then deposit these ions in/around the nerve axons
where they would mix with teh Na or K ions, makeing a salt, and
useing up the Na and/or K ions, not allowing the nerves to
transmit signals, as described by the Bernstein theory.  And then
the same brain stuff would occur, as previously mentioned.
 
Now, this virus is an airborn virus, so I guess it's exspelled
with any CO2, so the blood doesn't become overly acidic with
H2CO3.  Also there has to be some sort of special cure for it.
Right now, I have an idea for a cell that looks like a bone
marrow cell, and has the perfect interface for the virus.
The virus would then inject it's nucleic acid like normal,
however, this special cell would destroy it, or modify it,
and instead just split itself, and multipy at a rate
greater then that of the virus.
 
any ideas, suggestions or help would be much apperciated.
I would like to try to figure out the chemical structure
of the new heme, and just make sure that this is at least
quasi-plausible.  Thanx in advance =)
 
  Jon Erickson