Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-5983727-20130112120518/@comment-4057437-20130121030810

That it may be the will of a Divine or Daedric Prince that one catches a common disease like Ataxia doesn't change the fact that the disease is biological. As for being a Thane, the Dragonborn is honoring the Jarl by becoming a Thane, not the other way around.