Viral pandemic

We’ve all seen at least one movie, for they’re not uncommon (I am Legend, 28 days later, Resident Evil) where a human invents a disease, and because of the interconnectedness of our society everybody is exposed and is contaminated.  These movies go on to outline the effects of the disease being a savage need to eat other humans.  Sometimes these are the dead bodies (zombies) or the human is simply mutated into a savage beast-like version of a human. But really, could these simply be fantasy?  All fears are based on the fact that the scenario might actually happen. And yes, by the way, it could.

The fact is, this is entirely possible.  Bio-engineering could create a virus, that because it being unnative to our planet’s natural ecosystem, would find no boundaries when infecting hosts.  It’s also entirely possible for this virus to have “zombie” symptoms.  The reason for inventing a virus with this potential varies movie to movie, from curing cancer to creating a biological weapon. The purpose for this virus would lead towards creating a superhuman, purely killing humans,  or killing a mutated set of human cells.

A virus made to improve men for combat that could permanently change a human into a stronger, faster, less pain stricken being would obviously lend itself towards creating beast-like behavior.   That and its effects being permanent would cause a mutated strand of this virus to have devastating effects. The “beast” may act as the people in 28 days later and I am legend did.

A virus could reanimate a body, if it figured how to infect the brain and control it.  To reproduce viruses must take over a living cell and manipulate it’s functioning organelles to manufacture new viruses.  If super-viruses figured how to work as a team, they could easily take over an entire human body to help in the hunt for another host.

A biological weapon is meant to kill.  Zombies are dead.  In Resident Evil they create a virus that is meant to kill but a side effect is that the bodies wish to eat humans after their death.  Sadly, a desire of the people of our planet is to wage war against each other.  This fact and the point that a virus could animate a body supports the fact that we could have a zombie outbreak.

So now that it is known that it is physically possible for this virus to exist, what really is there for us to do?  All we can do is hope that as we survived the advancement of nuclear technology, that we can survive this.  That although we have the knowledge and technology, and it could be useful when waging war, we will not threaten humanity with it.  Our globe is shrinking.  Our cultures are less diverse.  We’ve been exposed to most diseases and have the same immunities.  One virus could kill us all.

UCBerkeley- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/alllife/virus.html

 Microde World- http://www.microbeworld.org/microbes/virus/

Pandemic Influenza- http://www.influenza.gc.ca/ai-ga_e.html

Official I am Legend site- http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com/