Could the Zombie Apocalypse Happen? ... It may be possible.

While we are waiting for the next series of 'The Walking Dead', I had some thoughts of how a Zombie Apocalypse could happen. (yup, I have a lot of random thoughts when I have my morning cup of Tea).
Did you know the US government has a 'Counter-Zombie Dominance' Document, laying out how they would react to a Zombie outbreak. I'm deadly serious. Go and have a read...

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2014/images/05/16/dod.zombie.apocalypse.plan.pdf

One of the best game apps I downloaded onto my tablet was Evolve Inc. the game shows a map of the world and you have to create and evolve a viral outbreak to kill the human race, an add on was the Zombie plague where you could evolve the plague to make zombies stronger, faster, cross oceans. All the while the human race block boarders, stop plane travel, research antidotes, it makes the scenario more realistic. It is very good fun and recommend you download it and play for yourself. Or you can go to... https://mattbierbaum.github.io/zombies-usa/ and play an online simulator.

In film, we have seen many different types how a Zombie would act. Slow, need to bite to spread the disease, super human speed, strength, airborne virus, parasite, rabies. Well, lets just say there is a lot of different types of Zombies.
The Zombie genre was planted in pop culture by George A Romero's Dawn of the dead in 1978, it was one of the first films we saw in full colour. Zombies needed to bite you to spread the disease, were very slow and had very little intelligence. The intelligence of the Zombies was looked into more detail in the following films in Day of the dead with the Zombie Bob and Land of the Dead with Big Daddy (Mr Clark's signed picture sits proudly on my wall), suggesting the brain isn't totally destroyed.
At the other end of the scale we have 2 of the best films to come out of the UK, 24 Days Later and 24 Weeks Later. In these films, the Rabies virus had been transferred to humans, dubbed the rage virus, which turned the population into blood thirsty, mindless rage machines, they could run very fast, but are not dead so there is no chance of them rotting and can still process the arm they tore off you and ate.
Could this happen in the real world?

1 - In the video game 'The Last Of Us' it depicts zombies that have been turned by a fungus. But did you know that there is a fungus in real life that does this too?
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis was discoverd in 1859 and it is a fungus that infects insects and turns them into zombies, litterally. It uses instect to help spread its spores by controlling the insect to keep moving, maximising the spread. But as the fungus grows, it eventually kills the insect and dies. But as we have learned from other diseases, they can evolve to infect humans. And with reaserch labs around the world trying to weponize it, you never know.

2 – An animal escaping a cage and starting a zombie outbreak is one of those film cliches we see a lot. But did you know that the CDC, WHO and the US military have been experimenting with Rabies to create a hybrid virus and use as a bio weapon? In the film 24 days later we see this and makes it seem all to real.
The disease is primarily located in saliva and those animals who do have it secrete large amounts of it. Because it makes animals rabid and uncontrollable, Rabies is usually passed onto others via a bite cut or even a scratch. Can you imagine humans that have uncontrollable rage and that can chase you down in moments?

3 – As we have discussed, CDC, WHO and other research labs around the world are trying to create bio weapons, so it would make sense that they would use existing viruses to create a designer virus.
In the Resident Evil Franchise, a Designer Virus called the 'T Virus' is passed onto other humans via a bite. This in turn kills the bitten person and then reanimates them. It does seem like science fiction, but there is proof that human brains can survive up to 3 hours after death. So it wouldn't surprise me if there was an accidental, or purpose outbreak in the future. Who knows, they may already have such viruses at their disposal.

We may never know if or when an apocalypse could happen. Many people, called Preppers, think it is a good possibility and are preparing for the worst, storing food, weapons, bug out vehicle's... Others like me have a plan to get to the shore, get a boat and eat fish till the day you die. seems like a stretch of the imagination, but the possibilities are there.

Thanks for Reading.

@TechMojo

Images...
http://zombiemall.com/stressed-zombie-outbreak-sign/
http://www.tricountypestco.com/zombified-bugs/
https://www.techworm.net/2016/02/amazons-new-terms-service-hides-zombie-outbreak-clause-hilarious.html
https://wagwalking.com/condition/rabies
http://www.evolving-science.com/health/designer-virus-helps-body-fight-back-against-cancer-00268