An infected apocalypse. Possible? If so, what to do ?

[EmoBorg]

Is it possible for something like the scenario featured in the 28 Days Later or The Crazies to occur ? An epidemic that affects a local area that could have the potential to spread regionally, nationally and world wide eventually.

Perhaps a human form of the mad cow disease called Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease combining with other virus or perhaps a new virus either conceived naturally or concocted in a laboratory. That new virus causes extreme psychosis and spreads by contaminated liquid in the form of saliva, blood and other bodily fluids.

Will an airborne variant be more dangerous ?

Will the incubation time of the disease help in the spread of the virus? A slow incubation time results in those infected being able to travel without visible symptoms showing in the early stages, thus allowing the quick spread of the disease world wide due to global air travel.

In the event of a global epidemic break out, what will be the safe buildings, locations and areas to survive in ?

 

[cooleddie74]

All I can recommend is that you should get yourself one of these guys.

And just to be on the safe side and double your chances for survival, a brooding girl with an awesome katana.

 

[auntiehill]

Digestion time?? I think you mean "incubation period," as in the time it takes for the multiplying organism to reach the level necessary for the infected to show symptoms.

 

[EmoBorg]

Digestion time?? I think you mean "incubation period," as in the time it takes for the multiplying organism to reach the level necessary for the infected to show symptoms.

My mistake, I will correct it. Thanks.

 

[sojourner]

"gestation time" is the phrase you were looking for.

 

[Gary7]

In "28 Days" we have a violation of containment protocol by someone who was not authorized, then the idiot proceeds to kiss his wife despite being infected. And his ability to escape undetected and then squirm his way back into the public to cause mass infection all over again... not very believable.

There is some possibility of widespread contamination happening, but... the movies do take liberties with punching holes through defenses we are heavily relying upon in reality, to upset and instill fear in us. That's the entertainment.

In reality, if a virus outbreak occurs we have a major lock-down take place. Look at what happened in Boston after the marathon massacre, and that's just to avoid a nut job.

I think our societies would be pretty adept at providing isolation of an infectious disease (as in the 1990's movie "Outbreak"). Of course, Soderbergh took a more nasty turn with it in Contagion, but I found it less believable. However, there are scenarios where many hundred thousands or millions may die. Some fanatical imbecile believing he is doing what God wants is going to infect a massive water supply somewhere in the USA at some point in the future. And it won't be detected until many people are sick and spreading it. Just look at what happened the other day, about some Middle Eastern foreigners steeped in chemical engineering knowledge milling about at night around a Boston area water supply. Given the ease of their break in, I fear this was a test and will pave the way for something lethal sometime soon.


On a larger scale, what we REALLY have to worry about is a collapse of the agricultural machine. The ecosystem is becoming more vulnerable. If colony collapse disorder continues at the rate it is going, we won't have any bees left and more than 40% of the crops we subsist on won't be pollinated, failing to reproduce. So we have an enlarging population with a shrinking food supply. That's the more plausible scenario of mass chaos and death.

 

[Avon]

didn't 28 days later start with eco-hippies liberating animals from a lab?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Yep.

 

[Gary7]

^ Yeah, in some inexplicable manner, they broke into a facility where highly virulent germs were being experimented on, and infected animals were turned loose. I very much doubt that such eco-hippies could do the same in the real world.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Eco-hippies, no, but Ninja Nuns? http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162...und-guilty-of-breaking-into-nuclear-facility/

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Yeah, in some inexplicable manner, they broke into a facility where highly virulent germs were being experimented on, and infected animals were turned loose. I very much doubt that such eco-hippies could do the same in the real world.

Perhaps they knew that the animals harbored a dangerous virus and let them loose anyway, just so humanity would suffer.

 

[cooleddie74]

^ Yeah, in some inexplicable manner, they broke into a facility where highly virulent germs were being experimented on, and infected animals were turned loose. I very much doubt that such eco-hippies could do the same in the real world.

I wouldn't put anything past the unhinged Earth First fruitcakes and sociopaths, but I'd like to think that 99.9% of the eco-hippie and radicals who subscribe to those kinds of organizations would never break into that kind of a lab and deliberately unleash something that horrific on the rest of humanity.

 

[sojourner]

^at least not knowingly.

 

[cooleddie74]

Valid point.

If they didn't know and were going on incorrect information who knows what kind of damage a few of those nuts could inflict.

 

[EmoBorg]

A terror group, foreign or domestic, could bio engineer a virus and release it at various locations to maximise the terror effect. Local healthcare and law enforcment services could be overwhelmed.

 

[Starkers]

^ Yeah, in some inexplicable manner, they broke into a facility where highly virulent germs were being experimented on, and infected animals were turned loose. I very much doubt that such eco-hippies could do the same in the real world.

Perhaps they knew that the animals harbored a dangerous virus and let them loose anyway, just so humanity would suffer.

Nah they just thought they were releasing some animals that were being experiemented on. They had no idea about the rage virus at the time...though they soon did...

 

[EmoBorg]

The British movie ,Doomsday, is an example of how a virus can spread across a country and Quarantine Procedures are implemented to stop the spread.

Doomsday Trailer link below

 

[Kommander]

In the event of a global epidemic break out, what will be the safe buildings, locations and areas to survive in ?

Madagascar will be safe.

 

[Deckerd]

I remember someone musing about an extinction level event and his scenario meant that there was only 10% of the population left. Someone pointed out that if 0.01% of the population were left it would still be a huge amount of people and nowhere near extinction.

 

[cooleddie74]

Yeah, 0.01% of more than 7 billion human beings would still leave more than 700,000 people in the world. Not a huge number per se, but more than enough humans of both sexes to get a great start on repopulating the planet over the course of ensuing centuries and millennia.