THE CDC, THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, AND YOU

May 16th the CDC issued a Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse :
http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp

It is such a popular announcement that it often crashes. So out of civic concern, I am distilling the announcement to its essentials :

There are all kinds of emergencies out there that we can prepare for.
Take a zombie apocalypse for example.

That’s right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now,

but when your bank teller starts to dig through your scalp to make a brain withdrawal, you'll be glad you read this.

And hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency.



We’ve all seen at least one movie about flesh-eating zombies taking over (my personal favorite is Resident Evil),

but where do zombies come from and why do they love eating brains so much?

The word zombie comes from Haitian and New Orleans voodoo origins. But they are quite different than the infamous Alice Wentworth, who, legends say, wait for the unwary by the crypt of Marie Laveau.

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen.

In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder

“How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?”

So what do you need to do before zombies…or hurricanes or pandemics for example, actually happen?

First of all, you should have an emergency kit in your house.

This includes 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

(or in the event of a natural disaster, it will buy you some time until you are able to make your way to an evacuation shelter or utility lines are restored).

Below are a few items you should include in your kit, for a full list visit the CDC Emergency page.

•Water (1 gallon per person per day)
•Food (stock up on non-perishable items that you eat regularly)
•Medications (this includes prescription and non-prescription meds)
•Tools and Supplies (utility knife, duct tape, battery powered radio, etc.)
•Sanitation and Hygiene (household bleach, soap, towels, etc.)
•Clothing and Bedding (a change of clothes for each family member and blankets)
•Important documents (copies of your driver’s license, passport, and birth certificate to name a few)
•First Aid supplies (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)

Never Fear – CDC is Ready

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.

This assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine).

It’s likely that an investigation of this scenario would seek to accomplish several goals: determine the cause of the illness, the source of the infection/virus/toxin,

learn how it is transmitted and how readily it is spread, how to break the cycle of transmission and thus prevent further cases, and how patients can best be treated.

Not only would scientists be working to identify the cause and cure of the zombie outbreak, but CDC and other federal agencies would send medical teams and first responders to help those in affected areas

(I will be volunteering the young nameless disease detectives for the field work).
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