Monday, October 24, 2011

In the Event of a Zombie Apocalypse

In the Event of a Zombie Apocalypse

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Social Media: Preparedness 101: 
Zombie Apocalypse
The following was originally posted on CDC Public Health Matters Blog on May 16th, 2011 by Ali S. Khan.

There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said Z-o-m-b-i-e A-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for any kind of emergency.
A Brief History of Zombies
In movies, TV shows, and literature, zombies are often depicted as being created by an infectious virus, which is passed on via bites and contact with bodily fluids. Harvard psychiatrist Steven Scholzman wrote a (fictional) medical paper on the zombies presented in Night of the Living Dead and refers to the condition as Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome caused by an infectious agent. 
Photo: Some of the supplies for your emergency kit.
    Some emergency supplies.
Better Safe than Sorry
Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
Once you’ve made your emergency kit, you should sit down with your family and come up with anemergency plan. This includes where you would go and who you would call if zombies started appearing outside your door step. You can also implement this plan if there is a flood, earthquake, or other emergency.

Never Fear – the good ole CDC is ready
Photo: Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Prepared
     Get a Kit, Make a Plan, Be Prepared

Text & Images via the CDC

 Image via Grindlebone

Rod Brouhard

First Aid for Zombie Bites

Anyone who's ever seen a movie about zombies knows that they are mighty ugly, with bad skin and worse teeth. Many zombies would benefit greatly from a new hairstyle. They have behavioral issues deeply in need of anger management and may be either completely mindless or freak geniuses, with most falling somewhere in between - depending on plot needs.
Zombieism is believed to be contagious, usually spread through biting. In the case of Zombeism, the best cure is an ounce of prevention. You really need to avoid getting a bite in the first place.
In the case of zombies that just shuffle along slowly, it shouldn't be too hard to outrun them (although they will respond well to Michael Jackson music and can move much faster when following choreography). Feel free to defend yourself (best to aim for the head) and avoid getting scratched or bitten at all costs.
One problem with outrunning zombies is their extreme strength. Obstacles you must go around, they just go through. There are several theories on why zombies have such superhuman abilities despite the fact that they can't move very fast. Most of the theories have to do with dramatic effect.
A few tricks to avoid being devoured by zombies:
  1. Don't go outside when you hear screaming. It's either the cheerleader getting bitten or a smart zombie trying to trick you.
  2. Carry weapons. Things that explode should be readily available (although recent plot twists suggest sound attracts more zombies -- don't say I didn't warn you).
  3. Never approach a "dead" body. Zombies are very good at faking death -- because they are dead -- and will jump up and eat you.
  4. Zombies like to hang out with vampires, werewolves, witches, fairy princesses, ghosts, goblins and things that laugh maniacally in the dark -- so avoid those at all costs.
Of course, there are examples of very fast zombies (and staying inside doesn't help much when zombies can just crash through the walls), so outrunning or avoiding doesn't always work. In case you are bitten by a zombie, here's what to do:

  1. Wash the bite with soap and water (this won't help a zombie bite but I'm ethically obligated as a medical writer to tell you to wash everything with soap and water).
  2. If the bite is on an arm or leg, cut it off immediately (and treat the amputation). Maybe it won't spread.
  3. If the bite is on any other part of your body, say something clever - especially if you have a camera solo - and shuffle off to bite someone else.
    Vampires must be turning in their graves as the growing popularity of zombies mindlessly nudge the fanged fiends off of the Top Monster perch. The zombie zeitgeist is in full swing, and with that in mind, it’s time for a post on all things zombilicious – here are our top favorite zombie tidbits, including some zombie background, best zombie films, real life zombies, and important information on what to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse…
Zombies are Born
The word zombie comes from Haitian Creole (zonbi) and North Mbundi (nzumbe). According to the principles of voodoo–the Creole religion–a dead person can be revived by a bokor, or sorcerer–and remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own. Although its meaning has slightly morphed over the years, it basically refers to a human corpse mysteriously reanimated to serve the undead, brought back to life through means such as magic, witchcraft, a virus, or other ways. Zombies are void of consciousness, yet can function and respond.
Through ancient voodoo and folk-lore traditions, zombies entered the world of entertainment, showing up as early as 1929 in the novel The Magic Island by William Seabrook. The book described the adventures of a man in Haiti who encounters voodoo zombies–most Americans had never been exposed to the concept of the walking dead prior to this. The novel was followed by White Zombie, a 1932 film starring Bela Lugosi–the first film to introduce the word “zombie” to the wider world. The concept grabbed onto the imagination of the public and spawned a culture of films and novels that seems not to be dying any time soon.
Many of the novels and films about zombies center around apocalyptic futures where the few survivors are sought out by their zombie human counterparts; usually hunting for human flesh, often specifically brains. Sometimes the zombies are victims of a pandemic illness causing the dead to reanimate or the living to behave this way, but often no such plot at all is given in the story.
Zombie Flicks
The real heart (or brains) of the zombie matter is in the zombie movie. Here is a list of ten awesome zombie movies.
10. Fido (2006)
09. Day of the Dead (1985) 
08. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
07. Zombie (1979)
06. Deadgirl (2008)
02. Braindead (1992)
01. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Real-Life Zombies
Paranormal Haze has some kooky spooky tales of parasitic beings in the natural world who make for some rather compelling zombie corollaries. And folks, these aren’t the things of movies! Here’s their offering of zombie insects that prove the old maxim, the truth is creepier than fiction:
The Weta 
The weta (shown above) is a large insect - some species growing as large as 4 inches long - native to New Zealand. They have a very nasty bite and can inflict painful bacteria laced scratches with their spiny legs. Their physical appearance is cricket-like but with a few distinguishing features. These creatures mere existence is terrifying but combine this with the fact that these insects are undead and you have one formidable zombie bug.
The tree weta have a protein in their blood that prevents water from freezing. Weta can survive being frozen alive for months at time in temperatures as low as -10°C by putting themselves in a suspended animation, something like Sly Stallone in Demolition Man. This is an impressive feat, but it is also important to note that while in this suspended animation the weta’s heart and brain dies then recovers upon thawing out. This bug is technically a zombie.
Wolf Spider
The Jewel Wasp
Text & Images via Care2
Human Zombies


Now, I don’t mean metaphorical human zombies like in the sense that we are all zombies because we lumber about our daily routines, go to our nine-five jobs, come home, go to bed, and repeat. What I'm talking about is literal human zombies!
Then someone came and dug him up. Upon awakening he was given doses of a “zombie powder” which contained the drug Datura Stramonium. The drug puts the user into an emotionless, trance-like state, but the user can still perform menial tasks. In Narcisse’s case he was used as slave labor on a sugar plantation. He was a zombie-slave for 18 years.
You don’t like zombies of the voodoo variety? Are you disappointed because when you read “Zombie Humans” you were hoping for an overly aggressive, mindless killing machine as seen in almost every zombie movie since Night Of The Living Dead (1968)? Well don’t worry because human zombies of this kind are not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Euhaplorchis californiensis gets inside the brain of killi fish and makes them swim and flop around on the surface of the water so it is more likely for it to get eaten by a bird. There is also a parasite that some scientists believe already changes human behavior.Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that is normally found in cats. It gets there by getting into rats through the filth they eat. It affects the rat’s behavior by making them friendlier toward cats so they are more likely to be eaten by said cats. Once inside the cats it begins reproducing. It sounds like a morbid Dr. Seuss book.
The parasite also gets inside humans and causes no physically harmful effects, but according to one psychological study it does change our personality. The study found that people tend to get more insecure when infected with the parasite (perhaps this explains emo kids). It also changed the personalities of men and women in different ways. It made men more jealous and suspicious and made women more affectionate.
How long before a parasite evolves that changes human behavior a bit more drastically? Perhaps a parasite that turns us into undead, cannibalistic killing machines… Only time will tell. Text & Images via Paranormal Haze

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