æt ðə tˈaɪm, pˈiːpəl dˌaɪəɡnˈoʊzd wɪððə dɪzˈiːz wɜː jˈuːʒuːəli jˈʌŋ bˈɔɪz bᵻtwˌiːn fˈaɪv ænd tˈɛn jˈɪɹz ˈoʊld, hˌuː wʊd ɡɹˈædʒuːəli bɪkˌʌm mjˈuːt, dˈɛf, blˈaɪnd ænd pˈæɹəlˌaɪzd bᵻfˌoːɹ dˈaɪɪŋ, wˌɪtʃ tˈɪpɪkli hˈæpənd wɪðˌɪn tˈuː jˈɪɹz dˈuː tʊ ˌæspɚɹˈeɪʃən ɔːɹ nˌʊɹɹəlˈɑːdʒɪkəl kˈɔːzᵻz.
At the time, people diagnosed with the disease were usually young boys between 5 and 10 years old, who would gradually become mute, deaf, blind and paralysed before dying, which typically happened within two years due to aspiration or neurological causes.