A “zombie outbreak” can happen any day, but it is highly unlikely that it would happen exactly how movies and TV shows depict it. It would be more realistic to picture an outbreak that has symptoms that cause a person to be brain-dead, have slow movements, change in mood or behavior, and have itchy or flaky skin.

One main thing that could cause zombie-like symptoms is a disease. Diseases can be pandemic and usually spread fairly quickly. One example is the Black Death. According to National Geographic, it killed about 25 million people in Europe. People who had the disease found lumps mainly on the groin and armpits, and there were black spots on the body. The majority of people who had it died within three days.

In Africa there is a disease known as sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis. According to the World Health Organization, it is a vector-borne parasitic disease. It is caused when someone gets infected with parasites that are transmitted to humans from tsetse fly bites. The first stage causes fever, headaches, joint pains, and itching. The second stage causes confusion, changes of behavior, sensory disturbances, disturbance of the sleep cycle, and poor coordination. It is very hard to treat, but case numbers have been lowering.

Sophomore Katelyn Pritchard said, “There are many things that can cause the mind to turn like that. There are even plants that cause nerve attacks. Anything is possible.”

Another way a zombie-like pandemic could occur is from brain eating amoebas. A specific one would be N. fowleri, which is usually found in warm freshwater. It usually infects people by getting in their nose. It can cause a rare infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). According to WebMD, PAM can cause altered mental state, drooping eyelid, loss of the sense of taste, blurred vision, and other things.

Kyle O’Connor said, “I don’t think the world would be ready [for anything like zombies]. I’m not sure if we would have a treatment, so it would spread quickly.”

While a zombie apocalypse may not occur as we see them in movies, it is entirely possible for people to be in a zombie-like state.