How do zombies survive

Their likeness to viruses makes the creatures ideal subjects for theoretical epidemiological analyses, which can be used to capture the public's imagination as well as explore scientific principles, Smith said. As for a zombie apocalypse, Smith's model shows that a zombie infection would spread quickly with N representing total population, S the number of susceptible people, Z the zombies, and b the likelihood of transmission.

It also shows that zombies would overtake the world — there's no chance for a "stable equilibrium" in which humans could coexist with the undead or eradicate the disease. Epidemiology and 'WWZ' Models of disease outbreaks, like the one Smith developed, play a prominent role in real-life epidemiology, Smith said.

Zombies are walking representations of a contagion, because they depict flesh-devouring monsters who spread their affliction by gnawing on the healthy. Some recent zombie flicks, notably "28 Days Later" and "Zombieland," even explicitly portray zombieism as a virus. The movie is somewhat loosely based on Max Brooks' novel of the same name, which included unprecedented, true-to-life detail about the political, medical and sociological ramifications of a zombie outbreak, earning the thriller a spot on a U.

Naval War College reading list. Math tackles the hordes Analyzing zombies adds a couple of new wrinkles to traditional disease modeling, Smith said: Dead people can be resurrected as zombies, and humans will attack the infected.

Those elements — infections and attacks on zombies — made the model more complicated, because they introduce two nonlinear factors, or factors that don't change at a constant rate, said Smith, who has modeled outbreaks of HIV, malaria and West Nile virus. Most disease models include only one nonlinear element: disease transmission.

Having two nonlinear factors makes zombie math extremely sensitive to small changes to parameters, Smith said. The most important parameter, however, was the infectivity of the zombie disease. In zombie movies, the affliction spreads fast, Mackay said. The re-animation process is, we assume, imperfect or it would be revivification. As autolysis is the first step in postmortem decay, even a brief period between death and re-animation would cause it to start.

Other aspects of decomposition, such as purification and insect infestation, though significantly slowed would likely continue as well. First, is that the zombie virus slows decomposition by providing cells with some nutrients. Second, is that the immune system, at least a crippled version, still functions to slow human bacterial flora from consuming their host. Third, it could be presumed that while some cell division continues, repairs and restoration are lost.

Fourth, the virus would likely only preserve essential functions, allowing irrelevant parts of the body, such as skin, secondary musculature, and some organs to decay. Thus, a zombie frozen in the arctic would likely re-animate upon thaw pathogen in stasis; corpse preserved while a zombie at the bottom of the ocean would first suffocate albeit more slowly and then be crushed. Condition 3 , that the pathogen is contagious via bodily fluids only, is a critical detail in terms of both staying true to the mythology of zombies and for presenting a scenario in which not everyone would instantly be zombified.

An airborne pathogen, particularly one with any sort of incubation period, would be total, unstoppable pandemic. But, more importantly, we are dealing with a creature of fiction.

And, just as with other members of the undead e. Furthermore, it immediately contaminates the flesh directly exposed. As the zombie pathogen, whatever it is, seems able to interact with most cell types, not just specific ones as with HIV , it would make sense that direct exposure would allow the virus both permeate the whole system body while beginning total infection at the site of contamination as well.

It only takes one bite! There you have it. A zombie pathogen must 1 be transmitted via bodily-fluids to 2 ensure sufficient and total infection which 3 is always fatal due to the fact that pathogen must 4 either consume the host or host-acquired flesh 5 hijack all the necessary functions for movement and sensation 6 provide at least some nutrients to itself and the body 7 allow continued movement and 8. Should we be part of a co-op farm outside the city in order to afford food??

I felt my intellect declining the more I read. Whats next, a vampire apocolypse?! As if the CDC has nothing better to address than impossible and fictional events. Glad my fellow Americans have their priorities straight, no wonder we are going down the tubes!!!! I am so ready for a zombie attack. I think it is cool other than all your friends and family and possibly even you dying. Most people think it will never happen, but guess what people it may not happen in your life time but it will happen sometime.

What a wonderful application of social marketing to encourage preparedness among individuals who might not have actually considered it prior to the article.

Public Health discussions are now taking place among entirely new populations, including youth, gamers, and others. By framing the discussion in a manner that appeals to this group, important information is delivered, understood and acted upon. Now think it throu all those people that are just doing this because its the only thing they know, i mean come on a zombie apocolypse?? HA mabey in your dreams but if its true then all i can say is dont be foolish cause they are people with souls so every one that you kill spends all eternity in HELL.

Great Job CDC and all the people that actually read the article and gave it this much thought. The last thing anyone wants to do when they are on the run from zombies or a tornado, is leave the furry ones behind. The family survived in the basement, and by the grace of God the pup was back without a scratch the next day.

But how aweful is that to know your dog is out there by himself during a tornado? So I will be stocking on the Beneful and along with the ramen noodles, and figuring out a backup plan for where they can stay if the zombie stuff really hits the fan. I am proud of the CDC for their creativeness in getting out some very useful information in a format which draws people in and keeps their attention… Bravo!!!

I love zombie movies and all that stuf, but when it realy happens no one wil be ready becous we neva faced anything like that before. I have been planning my own course of action since I saw Night of the Living Dead years ago and it scared the beejezus out of me. Your list missed good running shoes, cell phone, lighter, keep your vehicle in good working order never less than half a tank of gas ever and make sure to bring the pets!

Last thing we need is zombie Fido or Kitty…. Sorry to say this but all you guys are either gonna die or be completely unprepared when the apocalypse comes. None of you have any idea what you are talking about.

Do something more productive with your time and our tax dallors. Great job guys! Anything creative enough to get people thinking about disaster planning is money well spent. Congratuations CDC for thinking outside the box.

Time to dust off the crowbar and stock up on Spam. This is a fun and inventive way to get a new group involved in emergency preparedness. Great idea! Great communications tool. Congratulations on a unique and attention getting campaign. This is NOT a waste of money!!!

Excellent job guys!!! Way to get the word out on being prepared for a disaster. Thanks, my zombie plan and kit is in place and will forward this as well. I am retired from the Army and Current Army Civilian Employee and we have been preparing for the worst since I can remember.

You got to be ready for anything, Zombies, Anthrax, terrorist. As for the the kit that CDC listed, too basic. Spend the money on quality flashlights, radios, medical kits.

Get ready now, tomorrow might be too late. I also have bets on the Aliens will get you before the zombies do! I would suggest chain mail. I could go on as I have thought quite a bit about zombie apocalypses happening but. You know. How about some make-up so you can look like a zombie? Escape to where? We are all going to die anyway. May as well go out happy. When there is no more room in hell, the dead shell walk the earth.

Terminator, minus the time travel is way more possible than a Zombie attack, so tell me what the CDC is going to do about that. I am about to forward the url to all my friends but I think that it great that a government body somewhere on earth is finally starting to take the threat of a zombie invasion seriously because I seriously hate scary movies and a zombie invasion would be the most terrifying thing on the planet!

Nice to see that a government organization that has one of the most serious of jobs, can show that their people and have some fun once in a while. And the preparedness kit they describe really is a good emergency preparedness kit in general.

Good job! Some scenes involved the CDC. It will happen hopefully not in our life time though. It even says in the bible that the dead will rise from there graves.

So if the CDC is backing it up along with bible it has to be true. The best place to start you preperation is the nearest army surplus store,they will have every thing you need.

But if push comes to shove you and your own come first. Your supply list is very good and has helped me with my plan. My plan is to round up about 20 people head to Wal-mart baricade evry entrance with shelfs and anything else heavy. If anyone else has any ideas how do make my plan better pleas let me know. What a great way to get younger generations to pay attention to the importance of emergency preparedness!

Federal funding well spent. Cudos to all involved. This is genius, if you want to educate the under 30 crowd about emergency preparedness this will do it! I was pretty entertained by this, until I wondered how many tax dollars were wasted in the preparation of this article. I envision a project manager, a task force, dry-erase boards, spreadsheets… awesome use of government time and taxpayer funds! We hope you enjoyed the article and understand the importance of being prepared for any emergency, especially real ones like hurricanes, floods, or tornados.

We used existing staff, resources, and communication channels. We are really proud of the number of people we reached on a shoestring budget. Wow, i love how the CDC trys to down play the fact that tere are Zombies.

I am sure they are a bi product of some government testing gone wrong. This is a 48 hour survival kit listed in this article, and contains everything you MUST have to survive 48 hours on foot. Make one in a large backpacking bag and keep it in your garage. This is absolutely an EPIC post! Definitely sharing. Thinking I am totally insane for even considering a Zombie Apocalypse as a possibility. Hey Man.. I would rather be prepared.

And guess who will be calling me once zombies are knocking down their door. Even the CDC thinks so. Thanks so much CDC! For showing the judgemental unbelievers, it is possible for a Zombie Infestation. Listen people. For all of you morons who are complaining that the government is wasting money on this, please read it. This is about natural disasters. They are using the zombie angle to get people reading. Just substitute bird flu for zombie apocalypse and this is a very good article.

I for one have never gone to a CDC page and read anything except travel advisories until this, so it captured my interest. The bird flu of aka Spanish flu killed more people than WWI, so it is still a real danger. Thank you CDC for still looking out for us. Nice little posting, however: Most likely if there was a Zombie outbreak you are looking more towards Night of the living dead, Shaun of the Dead and Last of the living Zombies, they would be slow moving because of muscle deterioration and loss of a lot of mental capacity including movement.

What if there were to be a virus spread genetically that activated in the 10th year or any year of life, so nobody could prepare for it? When was the last time you got so many hits on your blog? Good job CDC. You have got to be kidding me. No one knows when the end of time will be.

An all powerful being would never let the little guy know when the final day is coming. Why would He let you prepare. You might as well sit and suffer thinking you are going to be tortured by zombies and waste you money in the resession on your zombie kit because your zombies will be your family, friends and neighbors coming to kill, steal and distroy what you do have after the rapture does come and the anti-christ is the one controlling everything left in the world.

What you eat, do, say, buy. What a crock! I am sure you people just suck! Amazing, just before finding this post I had made a game out of making a survival kit with the family. The one we had need to be updated and refreshed. The kids loved the post. Thanx for the humor but for the real world common sense. Evacuation in any bio-hazard situation should be immediate. My friend wants to be a proffesional zombie killer when she grows up. If a zombie bite a polar bear and it becomes a zombpolbear then i guess your ….

Anyone who wants a great training course for themselves and their family shoot us an email. Ask yourself why they would need an vaccine if there was no virus? And why was the vaccine not mentioned in this article? Well they made the zombie virus and they are working on the vaccine in a top secret lab but the scientists have not been successful yet. So there will not be a zombie outbreak until they have the vaccine. For all you people out there talking about how we are wasting our tax money on talking about zombies- live a little!

And for all you idiots out there freaking out about how there really will be an apocolypse- get a life. Seriously lay off, if you wanna be prepared then cool but stop stuffing your opinions down the throat of others. This is coming from a 16 year old girl, and I make more sense than all of you paranoid people.

Brilliant campaign. Definitely reaching a segment of the population that would otherwise not EVER care to read anything like this. I would love to know how many people have actually read this post that would not have bothered with a normal post… Finally the CDC is providing to the level of a missed audience…. Do you know how many times I have had to explain and interpret emergency warnings to functionally illiterate individuals?

Ignorance will be the leveler of the playing field. Or are you going to deny me this comment also? It is complete protection from the living dead. Prepare now…….. Slick PR campaign to catch peoples attention!

This is awesome! For all you people who think this is a waste of money….. You never know what will happen and it did not cost a lot of money to put this page up.

And if there is a zombie outbreak you will probably get eaten first. Learn something from them and use it in case of this happens… P. S: Not joking u should rlly check tht out.

Where is the proof of this virus. Extremely pleased with this post. What an awesome idea for informing the public what to do in case of an emergency, in such a fun and delightful manner. A spoonful of sugar always helps the medicine go down. Sheer marketing genius! I will be posting this on facebook, I think alot of my friends will get a kick out of it. You should really make a printable. This was a brilliant idea. Do I remember the article about Zombie Apocalypse?

Brilliant and entertaining way to bring attention to such an important issue. Nice job! And a shoutout to my fellow Zombie Response Team members! Is this a joke? Do you Americans really beleave in this? Greetings from Europe. If a zombir bites you on the arm, can you cut off your limb and thus be saved from the infection? Im sorry. But wonderful report IF it ever happened.

I love it.. For those that are upset that preparedness is being address this way… GET OVER IT… this is a great way to get to people, especially young people, to really look at what they need. If you look around you see Zombies all over the place… at least talk about the impending zombie apocalypse. Good job!! This was a very well thought out idea. What a fun way to get people thinking about real disaster preparation.

I can see by some of the comments that are negative — some people did not read it before replying. First of all, the CDC is not funded by your tax dollars people but if it was you should be proud. With what is going on in DC these days, it appears that there are already a bunch of Zombies in Congress and the White House…. Please put a disclaimer on this article that this is not true. My son suffers from paranoia and is extremely disturbed that what is written is actually real. You have got to be kidding me….

This is ridiculous! The CDC has been watching way too many cheesy old horror flicks. All the advice in this article can be applied to ANY diasater situation. Now back to zombies, I would also include some kevlar gloves and even sleeves if you can afford them so you dont have to worry about getting bit on the hand. Really, people? Lighten up. This is wonderful. Now if only we could find a fun and innovative way to stress the importance of reading comprehension, so that the poor souls who have been upset by this blog post will have some hope of someday getting this joke.

Or any joke for that matter. For the negative complainers, the CDC really got their bang for the buck on this twist. It is the same basic disaster preparedness information that the CDC has been making available to the public, but with some tongue in cheek humor added to make it a little more enjoyable and get the public attention.

In trying to get people to read the information available, this zombie twist hit the jackpot. In all seriousness, the preparedness information contained is valid useful information. Read it. Understand it. Use it. You will not be sorry. The emergency preparedness kits should also be useful during the next Rapture scheduled for this October and the cataclysm associated with the end of the Mayan calendar in December C does act fast to something so critical and crazy as something like this i would survive to the fullest.

Sanitation is an important factor to keep in mind since public water supplies might not be operational during an extended power outage. Thousands are suffering and this really does not humor me. You may also want to stop asking people for their psychiatric problem in the Oils spill also.

I wrote to Joe Biden and your head of the CDC sent a tepid response to me that there is no danger in the spill and no danger in the dispersants. I think you might want to have a chat with the people because we are slammed with blood levels of people with hexane, benzine, mercury, 2 and 3 Methylpentane above the 95 Quintile, Issocatane and now Cesium 99 this is nothing to be ignored.

People are very ill all over the coast of the Gulf and this is not National News. I guess these workers and humans are delusional like Morgellons patients. This is a horrific lack of oversight and compassion on the part of the CDC and yes while the world is awash in Environmental Armegeddon you put out an article that you think is cute. Bicycles would be essential for getting around fossil fuels would definitely run out in an Apocalypse situation.

Motorcycle jump suits would provide decent armor as they can stay intact after an accident it would be hard for teeth or nails to get through. Brick walls would make a decent defense. Definitely invest in solar panels for electricity main power grids would probably go down.

This is an old article. I read it a couple months ago. I have seen this apocalypse coming. They will be here soon. Is it ? I do not know at all. I agree with Dylan. This was a well thought out way to get people prepared for natural disasters. I know many people walk around care free thinking nothing can happen and everything will be provided by the government, well we seen how that worked out after a few hurricanes.

Having worked in law enforcement for over 16 years I can tell you most people are not prepared for even a small disaster and rely on the police and fire to take care of everything. Each citizen should take a little self responsibility and put a kit together with all the items listed by the CDC and Ready.

That way if a family should have to shelter in place until help arrives they can be prepared and sustain some safety and health and not tax the system should help be slow to get there.

Zombies are a good example to get everyone prepared for a disaster, it makes the idea of being prepared fun and get your entire family involved. Thanks CDC for a wonderful way to get people ready for any emergency. But it surely got their attention and likely may save their life one day for making them read something they probably never would have. Thanks for reading and for your blog comment. As we have mentioned previously this blog incurred no additional costs to the government.

We used existing staff and resources and feel that it has completed our mission of informing the public about important public health preparedness messages. What a fun, creative way to teach kids and Adults about emergency response kits! My boys now have taken interest in our 72 hr kit, where it is, and what is in it. Government money well spent! Most important is to teach them how to survive without you and the importance of proper mindset.

If you are the Alpha male of your house hold, then most likely you have shielded them, provided for them, and protected them their whole lives.

Its time to teach them to protect and provide for themselves. You are going to have a horrible job of holding society together and preventing anarchy, the least that you can do for yourself is make sure you KNOW that your family is going to be OK, so you can focus on your job and your responsibilities to the greater good.

You people that commet on things such as this with negative comments are just pathetic. Amusing angle that worked as intended! Did our tax dollars go to this tripe? This all comes from the organization that for years has been at the forefront of taking our 2d amendment rights from us. Zombie defense can only be accomplished through application of accurately directed objects via kinetic energy as a function of the ejection of lead from a metal tube caused by a gaseous explosion.

I agree with the saferooms, preferably having air vents, plants, heavy doors and no windows. However, there needs to be a service that allows areas to coordinate saferooms so that there is always a saferoom within a hour walking distance of another saferoom.

Also, large, strategic bridges should be destroyed and ferries be offered in place so that zombies would be better isolated to land masses. Wow, posts! This blog article must have been read by thousands of people after it went viral. Kudos to the genius who dreamed this up! As someone who has been preparing prepping for a long time and has CERT training I think this is great! Its a wonderful way of getting kids and adults to think about how to protect life and property.

They have helped me be ready for all eventualities. Thanks Jack! And thanks to my Dad who raised me with a survival mindset. Ive been reading a lot about this subject lately and i learned a little more from reading this, thanks for the post. I never made that mistake again, and have quite the emergency preparedness kit, though it does lack a few things mentioned in the article thx, CDC! Put it this way — no one ever died from too much good information!

Keep up the fabulous work, CDC!! Therefore, they are often caught unawares when a disaster natural or worse, man-made strikes. We take so much for granted. What if law and order completely collapsed? What if those societal buttresses were suddenly maybe permanently? So thank you, CDC, you did a marvelous job of shocking the conscience of quite a few people, myself included.

Keep up the fabulous work. You forgot to include an axe. Not for zombies. For hacking through the attic to get up to the roof. I must say Resident Evil was one of my best. It has a better plot than most and it more futuristic. Great website. We are sitting here in the store and wonder what in the hell was wrong with these slobber, sloth like fellow. He gave us this site address and told us to read up on the zombie possibility and what to do if they are here. The zombie are here and are now populating the planet.

If that happens i plan on staying in my summer house with all my supplies. I hope the president is aware of this situation and is forming a committee to look into a possible vaccine to prevent this from happening. But just incase I got my kit already made. And if this were to happen, most government officials would treat this as someone causing a violent riot for odds reasons or even for terrorism before openly accepting that zombies are attacking. I love this article and mean no offense but this is how I would see us reacting.

In a zombie apocalypse, a widespread rise of zombies hostile to human life engages in a general assault on civilization. In short great post…really amazing…Thank you so much for sharing this amazing info…. Then again, that goes without saying when talking about such idiots. How much money did this page actually cost to produce? How much is that? Cause mass panic? Cause an increase in violence and lawlessness?

No, none of the above. But if the public are reading it, then that was the point: getting people to think about disaster preparation. At the price it cost, it was a bargain. I have always been a woman who is not scared of anything..

I will cower in the corner while they eat me alive terrified.. Im terrified where if i see you have been bit.. Sorry but your gonna have to be dealt with, no need to sit and ponder it. I have always had a fear of a zombie Apocalypse.. Religiously and Scientifically it is possible..

I remembered hearing, when there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth. Not to mention the end of the world apparently coming October 28, Basically I am saying I am trying to find others in my area who are preparing and who are willing to voyage out together to look for an infection free zone. Which I feel from movies they have hinted us that Alaska might be one of those virus free areas… Anyone who lives in south florida or is willing to make their way down here to help if the event ever should happen please feel free to email me at doordie hotmail.

I just checked this out after the earthquake and hurricane. I love this blog entry. Thanks for making disaster preparedness actually fun to read about! Peace out!!! Zombie Apocalypse is coming to Arbutus on Oct 30, We are having carnival games, food, music, raffles and a zombie walk through town.

Stock up with big jars of cheap wine. I lived thru Northridge earthquake and afterwards, without power, without gas, without water, for almost a week. Suddenly there is literally nothing to do. So, just post yourself on a coach, listen to battery operated radio, if you have one, or read a book hey, remember?

Just when I thought nothing would surprise me…. We only wish that in Argentina we had something like that…. Thank you so much for such an informative post you have here.

You have certainly put so much efort in making your blogs. Keep it up! Chains, you have got to have chains to grip the pavement. After you run over a few hundred the tires start to get slippery with zombie slop.

A good set of chains will solve this problem. For all of you that think this page is nonsense, you are obviously missing the point. But who knows… Anything is possible…even perhaps zombies :-p. CDC knows that this will be cool and attractive to many young people.

It is a clever and cunning way to sell messages. A typical sales trick! I never really thought of this topic till now. Better lock up! I know I would. Cause you believe there is no such thing and believe we are alone in this Universe?

I plan on locking all the doors boarding up the windows, then barricading my garage, easy escape in a car : , Id probably end up at a outdoor sports store like many of us looking for a decent weapon and a group of people to work and travel with. Zombie are coming back for Halloween in few days now. Watch behind your doors. Thanks for the apocalypse zombie subject. If a zombie apocolypse were to occur just remember to sever the brainstem of the zombie by any means necessary, or just smack the crap out of its head.

To add to the kit maybe steel toed boots in case you are out of weapons and there are none in sight. Or just run away because zombies are very slow. Also reading the comments made me realize how stupid society is.

And whoever said zombies are fake better check their research. We have the capabilities of reanimating the dead and the CDC is the ones with the crap to do so…. The people were dead and they were reanimated and walking around.

They were not the stereotypical zombie that we see in the movies but they were documented as zombies. Love or hate this post and think i am a nut job if you want… or look it up and find out for yourself.

A face mask is always good to keep the virus from spreading through the blood and landing in your mouth in case of close combat situations,. In a parallel universe this blog would be extremely hempful. Where there is the posibility of a Zombie outbreak it is unlikely that it will happen in the manner we think it will. Preparedness is a great aspect and in many ways this article brought to light a fun way to get people to prepare for any sort of disaster.

I am glad it was written the way it was and I am disgusted with people complaining over tax payers money. I mean seriously, I pay taxes, I support learning even if it is through unorthdox means. We were watching deadliest warrior, and saw the vampires VS zombies and looked up a guide in case of a zombie apocolypse. Very helpful.