Zombies the Possibility of a Zombie Apocalypse

Zombies

The possibility of a zombie apocalypse or outbreak has been especially popular recently, in both popular culture and more serious fields. This is because while the actual threat posed by zombies in film and television is not real, in many important ways a potential zombie outbreak mimics the kind of pandemics and disasters that public health officials seek to prevent and plan for. In fact, zombies serve as a such a good proxy for other public health threats that the CDC has issued instructions for "zombie preparedness" and numerous scientific studies have looked at the logistics of a zombie outbreak (CDC, 2012). Thus, imagining a possible zombie outbreak allows one to consider many of the same factors present in practically any pandemic, as well as some of the specific cultural and social influences that one must take into account when dealing with a widespread disaster.

A number of possible diseases have been proposed as a potential source for a zombie outbreak, with the most likely candidates being either a virus or bacteria, due the relative speed with which they can infect a host. Both potential causes have their benefits and drawbacks; a virus offers the potential of a vaccine, but also the possibility of rapid evolution and spread across species, and a bacteria simultaneously suggests the possibility of anti-biotics as a treatment and the possibility of the bacteria evolving to become resistant. However, at the initial stages of response and planning, whether the outbreak is caused by a virus or a bacteria is of relatively little concern, as efforts to combat the spread will be the same in either case (although for the purposes of this study a virus will be presumed).

The key factor making the population especially vulnerable to an outbreak is the interconnectedness of the global transport system coupled with the lag time from infection to symptom, which could allow infected individuals to spread the virus a vast distance before their conversion into a zombie was complete. A recent study on influential spreading of contagions via air transportation found that contagions spread globally via a few influential points of focus such as JFK, LAX, and Honolulu Airport. This is because the first two service flights from all over the world, while the latter one tends to only have connecting flights to super-spreaders like JFK and LAX (as well as offering a relatively direct connection to Asia) (Nicolaides et. al., 2012). A single zombie in New York City could infect multiple people who subsequently travel around before their symptoms present themselves. Depending on how long the virus takes to kill its host, an infected person could travel literally across the world before he or she is quarantined.

While the most popular mode of transmission is via an actual zombie bite, it seems likely that the virus could be spread through the transmission of any bodily fluids. As a result, prevention and control efforts will likely be the same as with any outbreak spread via bodily fluid, with necessary extra precautions due to the fact that zombies ultimately attempt to eat people. Thus, the population should be encouraged to maintain distance from each other, eat and drink only clean, preserved food and water, and quarantine anyone suspected of infection immediately. Unfortunately there is no known treatment for a zombie infection, although identifying infected individuals early will at least give them more options for determining their own end-of-life and post-life care.