Nat Geo article on a "Zombie Virus"

[bbk 188]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/1001027-rabies-influenza-zombie-virus-science/

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Relatively short article, and more has to do with the fact that Halloween is around the corner than it being a serious one. The article doesn't really contain anything that hasn't been thought of before-- I'm just more/less surprised that Nat Geo would even take it seriously enough to "print."

 

I agree with the last portion though of the article. As scary as a thought would be, a hemorrhagic virus that can cause extensive brain damage/paralysis that may cause zombie-like symptoms would probably kill itself off before becoming a full-blown epidemic. I'm not a virologist, but I've seen reports having to do with CBRN, specifically infectious disease in this case, and hemorrhagic-types aren't too much of a "threat" beyond the initial targets.

 

Interesting read-- and if anything, definitely gets us prepared for The Walking Dead premiere!

[EchoMirage 137]

as fun as the idea/movies are, a real zombie outbreak, whether medically possible or not, will simply never happen. the #1 reason it happens in the movies is because the doctors or people involved with the original zombie are completely ignorant of what a zombie is. they apparently live in a world where 'night of the living dead' was never made, and have never even heard of the term -and subsequently definition of- zombie.

 

if a patient ever died, reanimated and tried to eat someones brains, 99% of americans would recognize it as a zombie and deal with it accordingly.

[MedicYeti 96]

Echo; I disagree with your estimation. I think 99% of people would panic or freeze in disbelief, then get eaten themselves. I don have as optimestic a view as many concerning the abilities and intelligence of the general public.

[Shane45 807]

Maybe not zombies per say but how easy would it be for some disaster to cause a major food shartage. Watch how fast The Road or Book of Eli comes about!

[TommyRuss 6]

Maybe not zombies per say but how easy would it be for some disaster to cause a major food shartage. Watch how fast The Road or Book of Eli comes about!

 

+1

 

Failure of supply-chain food distribution should be a major concern for any disaster.

[bbk 188]

For the disasters themselves, I think a crippling epidemic is right at the top-- reason why H1N1s and Avian Flues are as scary as society makes them out to be. I think because we live in a state (nation-state) that is relatively well off, in terms of having vaccinations, clean water (for the most part), means of handling disease and disease spreading agents (like mosquitoes, etc), and decent sanitary processes, we don't see how bad it can be.

 

Look at the factor of disease in the 2/3 of the world (that doesn't have the level of access Americans have), where its something like 80% of death is from infections or infectious disease. The different countries that make up West/East/South Africa are a good example of this. Also, look at the different areas that have been hit by natural disasters lately. Of course natural disasters increase the likelihood of spreading disease because of the worsened living conditions, lack of medical access, often time people are herded into larger communities-- the cholera breakout in Haiti (that's hit Port-Au-Prince) is a prime example in current events. The whooping cough being another issue on the west coast of the US-- and the massive increase of bed bugs throughout (not necessarily an issue, but an example of how quickly debilitating agents can circumnavigate the globe).

 

The hard thing to discern, IMO, is whether disease would be the disaster itself that leads to other processes (like the supply-chain industry being devastated), or it would be a domino that's felled by another...

[EchoMirage 137]

Echo; I disagree with your estimation. I think 99% of people would panic or freeze in disbelief, then get eaten themselves. I don have as optimestic a view as many concerning the abilities and intelligence of the general public.

 

 

everyone has seen some kind of zombie movie. even if patient 2 gets bitten suddenly, if he/she gets away, then word is out. all someone has to say is 'he came back from the dead and bit me', and everyone will know what it is and what to do. it should take hours for patient 2 to die then reanimate. im not talking the fast spread of 28 days later. even if patient 1 subsequently gets out of the room/morgue, it wont get far enough to spread like wildfire, as it does in the movies.

 

no one with the slightest bit of sane reason is going to stand still, motionless, while a stumbling, lurching stiff comes at them, arms flailing, moaning with blood dripping out of its mouth, while the target pleads "mom, what are you doing, whats wrong? answer me mom??"

[EchoMirage 137]

+1

 

Failure of supply-chain food distribution should be a major concern for any disaster.

 

 

read 'one second after'

[Nick T 4]

read 'one second after'

Great read

[Malsua 1,422]

IMPORTANT: It appears that a strain of the H1N1 virus has mutated! See details on this new strain: http://spam.com/category/infection/

 

You joined here just to spam your link?