by Brandi Bunch
Contributing writer
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, http://www.cdc.gov, describes the organization’s mission as collaborating to present the information and tools people need to protect their health “through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability and preparedness for new health threats.” The list of these threats currently includes zombies.
On May 16, 2011, the CDC posted an entry regarding the possibility of a zombie apocalypse to its Public Health Matters Blog. Beginning with a description of the possible causes of zombification to be found in films, the blog promises to prepare its readers for any outbreak or natural disaster, be it weather-related or caused by shambling hordes of the living dead.
First, the CDC advocates having an emergency kit in your home. This kit should include things like “water, food and other supplies to get you through the first couple of days before you can locate a zombie-free refugee camp.”
The recommendation is one gallon of water per person per day and plenty of non-perishable food, while the “other supplies” should include such things as medication, tools, clothing and copies of important documents like passports and birth certificates.
The CDC also suggests that your kit include first aid supplies like bandages and gauze, noting that “although you’re a goner if a zombie bites you, you can use these supplies to treat basic cuts and lacerations that you might get during a tornado or hurricane.”
According to the CDC, the next step is to make a plan with your family, including “where you would go and who you would call if zombies started appearing outside your door step.”
The CDC’s suggested emergency plan also says that you should establish some emergency contacts, such as an out-of-state relative whom you can call to check in on your other family members and “the police, fire department and your local zombie response team.”
At the present, Durant does not have a designated zombie response team.
The CDC says that it will be prepared in the case of a zombie apocalypse, noting that “If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation.”
While there has never been a documented case of zombification, certain origin stories appear more plausible than others. The U.S. National Library of Medicine, http://.www.nlm.nih.gov, has pages on a number of diseases that impair brain and motor function, such as Kuru.
This disease affects the brain and nervous system in a way that could mimic zombification, but according to the NLM, it only occurs in New Guinea cannibals who already eat brains (by choice).
Another such ailment is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which can spontaneously appear in its victims and may cause aggressive behavior. However, CJD is a rare disease and generally appears in those over the age of 65 or is inherited.
Should a disease of this sort ever become a pandemic, there is already a wide variety of items available for protecting oneself during a zombie apocalypse, ranging from a selection of books on the subject to Hornady Manufacturing’s “Zombie Max” line of live ammunition, which is currently available in seven calibers and is “for use on zombies only.”
However, as the official governmental agency that handles disasters of all kinds, the CDC suggests that you begin by simply putting together your emergency kit. The full list of items that may be useful in the event of various natural disasters, such as tornadoes, is available at http://emergency.cdc.gov/preparedness/kit/disasters/.
“Zombie Max” is not currently on the list.