On July 14, 2022 the new series was released netflix Resident Evil, which takes place in a universe different from that of the cinematographic saga. In 2022, a antidepressant is developed by the Umbrella Corporation, which contains a virus deadly: the T virus. Only fourteen years later, six billion human beings are infected, forcing the fifteen million survivors to take refuge behind fortresses.
The virus is described as initially being a bacteriophagea virus that infects bacteria. He travels through the blood circulationthen spreads in the vascularized tissues, in particular the muscles or the brain. After genetic changes, it can infect organisms eukaryotes of all species alive: all animals, mushroomsplants, and even single-celled organisms can be infected!
At the level of symptoms physical, they are classic in any zombie film: after a few days of incubation, the brain is degraded, the individual loses his cognitive functions, he walks with difficulty, slowly, and becomes cannibalistic. Its tissues degrade slowly, it returns to decomposition, at least on the outside. It’s as if this parasite gradually took possession of the body of his host: the latter loses all control of his body, and is no longer moved by anything but a thirst for flesh and blood. The virus is also very contagiouscausing a pandemic in days and wiping out humanity in months.
Medically speaking, how do you define a zombie?
Several definitions of zombies exist, but originally this term refers to “living dead”. But in resident Evil however, the evil initially looks like a classic infection, and you never really get the answer: are the zombies really alive, really dead, or in between?
If we consider the first option, at the clinical level, zombification could be characterized first of all by a neurodegenerative disease. Indeed, one of the main characteristics of zombies remains the absence of consciousness, and their brainless appearance. Aggressive behavior is added to it, a difficulty in moving and an insatiable hunger accompanied by a cannibal diet.
Are there diseases that cause similar symptoms? Unfortunately yes. Or almost. We can cite in particular prion diseases — of the proteins incorrectly folded or with an abnormal structure — which induce “a rapid and fatal degeneration of the central nervous system”, explain the‘Insermthe best known being the Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseasewhose bovine form is nicknamed mad cow disease. Among the symptoms, memory loss, mood, personality, orientation, language disorders, muscle twitches… until the disease leads to death.
Another lesser-known disease also causes troubling symptoms: syndrome of Klüver-Bucy. Reported in rare cases following surgical operations, the contraction of a encephalitis or a strokethis syndrome causes symptoms that are unusual to say the least: memory problems, hypersexualityhyperorality (wanting to put everything in one’s mouth), hypermetamorphosis (tendency to react to all visual stimuli), sensory aphasia, inability to recognize faces, or even objects by touch… However, this syndrome mostly comes from a lobe degradation temporalbut more rarely from viral infections, such asherpes.
There are in fact many syndromes or diseases whose symptoms are reminiscent of zombification similar to that of resident Evil. But let’s mention one more thing: the rage. This meningoencephalitis is transmitted by salivahence the mistrust after bites of dogs in places where the virus is circulating. She can touch all mammalsbut is transmitted only in rare cases between humans (through organ donation or from mother to fetus).
Once declared, unless you have previously had several injections of vaccine, it will inevitably lead to death. But many symptoms will precede this fatal outcome, including neurological disordersbehavior, difficulty swallowing, sometimes even hydrophobicity (muscle spasms at the sight of water). Finally, a large majority of diseases that lead to “zombie” type behavior turn out to be fatal: indeed, once the brain is badly affected, some lesions are not curable.
And if we look at the side of drugsthe possibilities are just as numerous: manyhallucinogens can induce violent behavior, particularly because of the anxiety they trigger. One in particular has been dubbed the “zombie drug”, and is called bath salts or bath salts. With effects similar to those of MDMA or cocaine, it can cause, among other things, hallucinations, paranoia and violent behavior. Fortunately, no cannibal attacks, as was falsely mentioned in 2012 when fake photos and videos circulated everywhere on the social networks !
Such parasites already exist for some species, and create strange behavior
Whether plants,insects or even small mammals such as rats, some parasites can induce strange behaviors in their host, and even turn them into zombie animals. These are often fungi that devour their host from the inside, then push it to death in places where they can then spread by contaminating a new host. Especially among ants : the parasitic organism only leaves their brains intact, causing them to leave their nests and cling to the surrounding leaves. Once the ant dies, the spores of the fungus spread and wait to find a new host, i.e. another ant passing by. Other similar processes exist, grasshoppers forced to drown, sex-hungry frogs, spiders or caterpillars eaten from the inside by larvae fly or wasp…
Plants are not spared either! This time it’s about a bacterium called phytoplasma. It particularly contaminates the phloem, the conductive channel of the elaborated sap (that which comes from the leaves and not from the roots). Phytoplasmas cause infected plants to no longer produce flowers, but only leaves, giving them a characteristic appearance. All in order to attract more insects that feed on the sap circulating in the leaves. These insects will then serve as vectors for the bacteria: when they land on another plant, it can spread there.
A similar process of mental manipulation is observed on a lesser scale for toxoplasmosis. From the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, it induces strange behaviors depending on the hosts in which it spreads. Especially in mice, to whom it removes all fear of their natural predators, cats! But also in humans, so 50% would be contaminated. A recent study has shown not only that the parasitic fungus remains present in our brain until death, but also that it can produce amazing effects. Mental disorders in particular, but also a greater attractiveness… in other words, this parasite makes you sexier ! Finally, the examples of strange behavior caused by parasites are numerous all over thetree of the living.
Researchers have also imagined a real zombie apocalypse, and have even modeled a zombie outbreak worldwide ! By imagining 20 days of survival per zombie infected with the virus and a 90% chance of infecting another human, they estimated that a pandemic situation would be reached in just 20 days. Humanity would be entirely extinct after… 181 days. Of course, their scenario was the most pessimistic they could have imagined; others were giving the upper hand to humanity, after all the same 27 years of struggle.
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