Reavers are contagious. A character who survives melee combat involving a Reaver, and has not already been inoculated, automatically contracts the Reaver disease and must make a Willpower/Force of Will save every 12 hours or become a Reaver. Every subsequent Willpower check has its difficulty increased by 5. Hibernation Trance will halt the progress of the disease but not reverse it. Cryosleep will halt the progress of the disease but not reverse it. The cure requires a major medical procedure to purge the disease from the patient, including full blood filtration and repeated bacta wraps in a quarantined environment, followed by a week of repeated inoculation and testing to make sure the disease has been fully eradicated from the patient. This is an expensive procedure, which means some governments will destroy the infected person rather than purchase sufficient quantities of bacta.
Special Note: If Reavers feel pain, they are not hindered by it—but rather thrive on it. Reavers ignore the effects of Stun damage, and do not suffer penalties for injuries. (They will, however, suffer penalties for obvious physical problems. A Reaver whose arm has been severed can only attack with one arm!)