Victory’s Zombie Apocalypse Theory

      Since it is physically and scientifically impossible for an actual corpse to come back to life, the term “zombie” will be used to describe a human being with no control over their own actions, who is essentially a brain-dead creatures with only the most primal of instincts still guiding their actions and behavior.

 

            Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms.

 

            Rabies virus is part of the Rhabdoviridae family of viruses, under the genus Lyssavirus. The virus itself, like all members of Rhabdoviridae, is shaped like a bullet. Upon entering the body, it makes its way to the spinal cord via the peripheral nervous system's afferent nerves (nerves that carry impulses toward the CNS). Once the virus gets into the spinal cord, it's quickly sent up to the brain, where it begins replicating itself inside the mind's nerve cells, destroying them in the process. After it reaches the brain, the virus typically travels through the efferent nerves (nerves that carry impulses away from the CNS) to the salivary glands, which often causes increased salivation, or foaming at the mouth. It's important for the virus to do this, as this saliva is its principle method of transmission into new hosts. After hitting the salivary glands, the virus continues its way down throughout the rest of the body.

 

            There are actually several different strains of the virus, there are only two real physical variations. The most common is the encephalitic, or "furious," form of rabies. This is the mad-dog, foaming-at-the-mouth version, usually highlighted by increased agitation and aggression, disorientation and hallucinations. The other form, the paralytic or "dumb" form, is more peaceful, but no less deadly. With this version, the victim initially appears weary and lethargic.

 

            Both of these forms take place during rabies' acute stage, the point at which the virus has successfully infiltrated the body, symptoms have occurred and all hope for recovery is gone. As the virus makes its way throughout the body, lethargy soon turns to partial or almost total paralysis, then to coma and death.

            It's actually not uncommon for symptoms of both rabies forms to appear in a single case. If the person or animal doesn't die during the furious form, the virus will develop into the dumb form. Paralysis will occur, and the animal or person will slip into a coma and die, usually from respiratory paralysis.  (http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/all-about-animals/rabies1.htm)

 

            Look at society’s typical zombie; A slow, lethargic corpse that when senses the presence of another moving thing, becomes aggressive and attempt to attack and bite the offender as a way of spreading the virus.

            Rabies affects the human brain in a way that makes the host cannibalistic, aggressive, and irrational. Everything that moves is a potential target, and if that target is living it is the number one threat, and therefore will be eliminated. People affected with rabies are not mindful of their own actions, and therefore will not hesitate to kill and are less sensitive to pain, giving them the impression (to onlookers) of a ruthless being immune to pain and possessing extreme strength. Also, once a human has shown symptoms this severe, there is no cure. Death is imminent, and will occur a few days later, however, a great deal of damage can be done in those few days.

            As the host nears death, they will become slower and slower until total paralysis has occurred, which is then followed by a coma and then death, much like a pop-culture zombie slowly decays and become less agile, and falls apart after a while.

            Based on the fact that diseases can mutate depending on the host’s genome and the environment it is present in, it is a safe bet to assume that the zombie apocalypse will be caused by a mutated strain of rabies. Even a slight mutation in a virus can easily leave scientists scrambling to create a vaccine, even if a vaccine was previously created for the original virus. In the amount of time, it takes for a vaccine to be found, however short, the virus can be rapidly transmitted from human to animal to human, endangering every creature in the United States. Even then, there will be no cure, since no original rabies cure has been created. All the survivors can do is take a vaccine, hope it works, and try to eliminate as many zombies as possible in order to rebuild the population of America with healthy individuals. The cleanup will be long, difficult and messy, and traces of the virus will linger in the environment for a long time to come, threatening us with the chance of another epidemic if a passerby is infected by the traces that remain.