Zombie Research Society
Science writer and blogger Kyle Hill recently explored the unusual virology of The Walking Dead in a fascinating new article for Discover Magazine. And his unique theory regarding “zombie venom” may finally explain some of the shaky science behind the ubiquitous infection featured in AMC’s popular television series!
Unlike most modern fiction, the characters of The Walking Dead are already infected with the deadly zombie contagion. However, the undead walkers are still portrayed as a constant source of toxic danger. A single bite can lead to a quick and painful death… or undeath, as the case may be. But if you can’t further infect the infected, what’s the danger?
Dead bodies are dirty. Shortly after our body stops fighting off bacteria and starts decomposing, we are colonized by microscopic critters not safe for the living. For example, the state of a corpse is dangerous enough that crews searching for victims of natural disasters take special precautions to make sure they don’t get infected. A rotting body can still transfer gastrointestinal pathogens, tuberculosis, and hepatitis to the living. Tuberculosis itself can survive in a corpse for 36 days after host death. So, one can imagine that a biting mouth of a rotting corpse, continuously chomping down on humans, isn’t the most hygienic place. It harbors a cocktail of bacteria and viruses that could be considered a sort of “zombie venom.”
This theory is based on the idea of a “reservoir” which is generally defined as a population that hosts a dangerous virus or pathogen without injury to itself, yet serves as a source of infection for others. And since the characters on The Walking Dead obviously aren’t dying from a virus they already carry, the true danger of the zombies must be a sort of “venom” made up bacteria and other viruses commonly associated with decomposing corpses.
Of course, many longtime fans of the series have discussed this matter ad nauseam. But the updated version of Hill’s new article is definitely worth checking out. And despite conventional wisdom, I’d suggest reading the comments section where you’ll find a number of thoughtful remarks that actually add to the conversation… go figure!
Please check out the original article by author Kyle Hill online at Discover Magazine. And read his regular science column But Not Simpler every week for more amazing topics.
Isn’t it just as possible, if not more so, that the virus, dormant in the living but given free reign upon the host’s clinical death, has evolved to the point of creating a catalyst in the host’s other bodily functions which, upon bite or wound transference, activates the once dormant pathogen and bypasses the need for clinical death?
You mean like in The Walking Dead?
Maybe the zombie pathogen finds and attaches itself to the bacteria that awakens upon your death to aid in decay, the activation of this bacteria also activates the pathogen. At this point the the Z pathogen kills the host bacteria this ensures a slower rate of decay allowing the now active Z pathogen ample time to take control of the motor skills in the brain and go on a rampage before the body is reduced to a sun dried husk no longer able to support the pathogen.