Many movies and TV shows have shown what a possible zombie outbreak could look like, with some people even preparing for when that day would come. Although it seems farfetched, a zombie outbreak is not impossible because of one parasite that infects rodents' brains, which is also found in humans.
This parasite is called toxoplasmosa gondii that can also be found in cat poop that can spread to humans through raw meat and increase the risk of developing brain cancer.
Zombie Outbreak Possible Due to A Parasite
The parasite can manipulate a rodent's behavior once it gets infected, making it fearless around cats. Experts said that T. gondii could make the rodent attack a cat as it changes its behavior, Express reported.
Moreover, a previous Science Times report said that evidence had shown a connection between the parasite and neurological conditions in humans, like Alzheimer's disease, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is also linked to schizophrenia and suicidal tendencies.
Past studies reveal that the parasite knows better the brains than humans do and can exert desired change in complicated rodent behavior.
Experts believe that rodents' behavior, when infected with T. gondii, has a connection on how it could affect humans. That is the reason why scientists use rodents for testing drugs and medical breakthroughs.
They said that approximately 50% of humans worldwide have the dormant version of the parasite in their brains but just in the form of harmless cysts.
It is already believed that half of the humans around the world have a dormant version of the parasite on their brains in the form of harmless cysts.
"Toxoplasma has done a phenomenal job of figuring out mammalian brains to enhance its transmission through a complicated life cycle," Wendy Ingham said.
However, other experts believe that in the future, the parasite will ultimately turn humans into zombies. The University of Reading's virology professor Dr. Ben Neuman said that a virus such as rabies could evolve someday and take over humanity.
Zombies In Real World
According to Medical News Today, there are also creatures in nature that are considered to be real-life zombies. They are insects or virus that has the ability to be reanimated or come back from the dead.
For example, the genus Ophiocordyceps is a frightening fungus that attacks insects and kills them by growing inside them. They turn caterpillar ants into zombies when it gets infected. They are then compelled to climb to elevated vegetation where they remain affixed and die, and the fungus grows to spread its spores later on.
Another example is the Zatypota wasps that lay eggs on the abdomen of A. eximius spiders. The wasp larva would start feeding on the spider when the eggs hatch and will take control of its body. It turns it into a zombie-like spider that will spin a cocoon-like spiderweb where it will grow as an adult wasp.
Lastly, scientists in 2014 have discovered a giant virus that is 30,000 years old in Siberian permafrost called Pithovirus sibericum. They believe that it poses the same dangers as the one virus they found earlier in the permafrost.
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