Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse
The following was originally posted on CDC Public Health Matters Blog May 16th, 2011 by Ali S. Khan.



There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for. Take a zombie apocalypse for example. That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.

A Brief History of Zombies
We’ve all seen at least one movie about flesh-eating zombies taking over (my personal favorite is Resident Evil), but where do zombies come from and why do they love eating brains so much? The word zombie comes from Haitian and New Orleans voodoo origins. Although its meaning has changed slightly over the years, it refers to a human corpse mysteriously reanimated to serve the undead. Through ancient voodoo and folk-lore traditions, shows like the Walking Dead were born.



A couple dressed as zombies - Danny Zucco and Sandy Olsson from the movie Grease walking in the annual Toronto Zombie Walk.
In movies, shows, and literature, zombies are often depicted as being created by an infectious virus, which is passed on via bites and contact with bodily fluids. Harvard psychiatrist Steven Schoolman wrote a (fictional) medical paper on the zombies presented in Night of the Living Dead and refers to the condition as Ataxic Neurodegenerative Satiety Deficiency Syndrome caused by an infectious agent. The Zombie Survival Guide identifies the cause of zombies as a virus called solanum. Other zombie origins shown in films include radiation from a destroyed NASA Venus probe (as in Night of the Living Dead), as well as mutations of existing conditions such as prions, mad-cow disease, measles and rabies.

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”

Well, we’re here to answer that question for you, and hopefully share a few tips about preparing for real emergencies too!


Rest of the article can be read at http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp

How the absolute hell did this end up on a .gov site?

My thoughts exactly ;) tho it did make me smile!!

ROFL. oh my god, I officially love the center for disease control right now.



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http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies.asp

FYI All: It was an attempt to get pop-culture minded people to think about real world issues, such as contingency plans in the event of real emergencies. Since people can't be bothered to actually plan for serious issues like, you know, floods, hurricanes, flu epidemics, etc., they thought since people are idiots and believe that a zombie apocalypse is coming, they might prepare. The survival kits are pretty much always the same.

I didnt think it was serious....pretty funny tho!

Christ til Friday. On a government site? Really? Foolishness and jackassery, I say!

Haha it's cute. I needed a little chuckle to start my day. :)

Humanity is strange...

I just wanted to see zombies...lol