Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-5983727-20130112120518/@comment-5558140-20130211015819

the fact your calling it a "strain" like some disease is fundamentally flawed. you can't contract it, its a curse that is ritualistically passed down, in this case, one passed down between the inner circle of companions. other examples show that hircine gave it to his most loyal followers as a reward, or simply to torment mortals. there could very well be a version that is a disease but we haven't seen it. porphyric hemophilia, for example, is a disease because it can be contracted from others who have it, but you can't transform into a vampire lord at will, only those cursed by molag bal have that ability, so you could say that because it is a curse and not a disease, it is more powerful. you can transform at will rather than be bound by the cycles of the moon.