Stopping the Infection at Patient Number One!
Photo by Andy C.
The carrier of a disease or virus, is known as patient zero. During a zombie outbreak this person may be very important to ending the outbreak, because they either begin the outbreak or they may even be immune to the virus and within them may lay a cure or vaccine. Now, the first person they infect is patient one. The question is, what happens when patient one is you?
While the odds are slim that anyone of us may be the first person to actually be infected, however it is not out of the realm of possibility, distant as it may be. Nevertheless the infection must begin somewhere and if those who are there when it begins are able to react and put it down quickly. However, it is unlikely that you will have full tactgear or your zombie rig on you when a sudden outbreak occurs and more than likely there will be casualties. What if you are among them?
What this situation raises is the question of what you will do in this situation. Do you decide to slowly turn, losing your very humanity by the hour till you walk among the dead and infect those around you? Or do you end the infection with yourself, and save countless lives.
Comments (25)
McLuvin on 24 Dec 2009 at 1:43 am #
I think anyone in the first wave of infection will be completely unaware
of the severity of the illness until it is too late. They will likely think
they have the flu or whooping cough(it could happen).
In the event of me being patient one and realizing what I’ve contracted,
I would have a friend on death watch. Let’s ride this out and if I turn then kill me.
I would be hesitant to jump straight to the “killing me” part of the evenings festivities.
Adam on 24 Dec 2009 at 10:52 am #
I take it you’re assuming we’d kill patient 0 before ourselves? otherwise it would seem a bit pointless.
Assuming I knew what the disease was, I’d quarentine (spelling?) myself and try to make a cure using patient 0 and my blood. Hopefully it won’t happen until after september next year when I’ll be a med student with access to all the necessary equipment, but if it does i’ll just break into the research lab about 10 minutes walk away from my house. In case there is no cure, or I can’t find it, I’ll have a friend standing by to kill me. Oh, and i’d post warnings on here and other sites like it. No-one would listen, but my observations might help when people realise what is happening.
I would be tempted, if I developed a cure, to keep the virus around. Thinking scientifically, a disease that could reanimate the dead could be useful. Think about the possibilities if you could modify it with a retrovirus or plasmids. Or even if someone bleeds to death, you could reanimate them, give them a transfusion then administer the cure. Bam. Life saved. Almost everyone who dies in surgery dies because of some kind of blood loss. And it wouldn’t matter overly if it got out in the lab, because there’s a cure available.
Benjo on 24 Dec 2009 at 1:07 pm #
adam, thats just what umbrella thought :P
if patient 0 was just a Z walking down the street,
i wouldn’t destroy it, just keep a safe distance.
maybe then it would find a better candidate for patient no. 1
Adam on 24 Dec 2009 at 2:12 pm #
Yeah, but umbrella was using it as a bioweapon, not a medical treatment.
3-15 INF on 25 Dec 2009 at 2:21 pm #
I would imagine that patient zero would infect many people really quickly before anyone had an idea what was going on. Unless you knew what would happen before it did (because you caused it) you wouldn’t have a clue what to do about it. You would probably think they were crazy at first and try non lethal means.
Ronin666 on 26 Dec 2009 at 12:14 am #
If I stumble toward you pale,in-coherent,moaning and drooling please wait before shooting, I’m like that every morning before I’ve had my coffee.
Chances are if I’m one of the first infected I won’t know what I have so the idea of topping myself won’t come to me untill I’m gnawing on your arm.
Benjo on 26 Dec 2009 at 12:10 pm #
well if i were bitten or scratched, i would wait to turn.
like leave the people around me and just get a melee weapon.
run out into the horde and fight, then just enjoy until i turn or die.
KillerB on 26 Dec 2009 at 4:38 pm #
It seems to me that the first person to become infected would be a very valuable resource in containing any infection. It also seems very likely that there will be many people who simply die after getting infected. Just like the flu kills some but leaves many unharmed after the effects wear off. Also the violent nature of the Zombies would leave many people who were infected torn to shreads. Many of the people attacked would simply become dinner for the infected and after they have served that purpose there will be little left over for reanimation of the corpse. If the virus has a short incubation time controling the infection will be easier than if it has a long incubation period. The investagative resources that would have to be allocated to finding patient zero or one would be staggering. Finding the first would be second to putting down those who are already infected. Finding a cure is not going to happen for a long time after the infection happens so rekilling the Zed will be a primary mission objective. Protecting the living will be the number one goal. Sure there will be the scientific types that will really want to get ahold of patient zero and one but to you and me that will not be a priority in any of our survival plans. As far as me being patient one. Not a chance. But if for some strange reason that did happen to me then I would take as many of the zeds out as possible before i turned. then it would be easy for my family and freinds to shoot me in the face. FUN FUN. Well that is about all I have to say about that. CHEERS, killerb
Semper Cogitant on 26 Dec 2009 at 8:02 pm #
Patient One will not know he is Patient One of course becase until that point there is no such thing as zombies, and that’s especially true if Patient Zero is an immune “Typhoid Mary” type rather than a zombie as suggested in the scenario.
If, however, patient one is me and somehow I know it, and know what’s in store for the world, I would naturally do my civic duty.
First of course that would mean dealing with Patient Zero. If he survive to go out and make patient two and three and all the rest then it’s all over and any efforts on my part are a waste. For him it’s a bullet to the head weather he’s immune or not.
My first though is take his body with me, but on my dive gear and some extra weights, jump in Puget Sound and get deep fast, then switch from air to 100% O2. Hypothermia, N2 Narcosis, then O2 Toxicity would be a comfy way to go. Nothing in the literature suggests any possible animal vector for the zombie virus so that should keep the world safe.
Of course there might be a future patient zero. It might be a better idea to make a call to Fort Detrick to let them know where to come pick up some new research material. If you could get them to believe, and of course barring the zombification of the world being some government conspiracy.
Realistically though, if you are patient one you will go to the ER because some crazy homeless crack addict bit you as far as you know. Get it cleaned, get tests for Hepatitis and HIV, probably be worried about getting a MRSA infection. Then you’ll turn in the ER and the zombie cascade will start. Meanwhile patient zero has bitten more folks on the street, probably even some of the police and EMS personnel that come to get him. More people will go to more ERs starting more zombie hot spots. Some will go home without seeking medical attention, they’ll turn their families and neighbors and more first responders.
It’ll be a real bummer. Hope I’m not Patient One.
Ronin666 on 27 Dec 2009 at 7:47 am #
of course just to making interesting consider how the virus may start, who is to say there will only be one patient zero? A whole house hold, an apartment building, an entire town, could get hit with what ever creates the virus presuming of course it is a virus.
Docwade on 27 Dec 2009 at 11:20 am #
I’m on zombie watch any time I see McLuvin.
Brock Samson on 27 Dec 2009 at 6:01 pm #
If I become what you humans call “patient one”, then I’m no longer on the human team. I’m on Team Zombie, and I’m playing to win.
Let the feeding frenzy begin!
Sevandor on 27 Dec 2009 at 6:28 pm #
if you were #1 you wouldn’t know. patient 0 could still infect others, i would give myself over the the goverment to test cures on. it it was a clear suicide saves/ turnng=apocalypes i would shoot myself
Adam on 28 Dec 2009 at 6:12 am #
What if you were patient 0 though? You can’t turn, but if anyone comes into contact with your bodily fluids, you’ll infect them. What do you do then?
StoneTree on 29 Dec 2009 at 11:03 am #
The most liekly answer is probably Semper Cogitant’s. P-1 goes to the ER, etc.
Side Question 1: Suppose the virus can be spread from an un-turned infected, to an un-infected human, through a mosquito bite. What do you do then?
Side Questions 2: Can mosquitos also turn into zombies?
Seroiusly though, stay away from the hospital.
Angryvikingman on 29 Dec 2009 at 2:22 pm #
Well, we cant speculate as to the ability of insects to transfer the zombie virus.(If it is a virus) Just cover yourself in deep woods off and hope like hell the mosquitos find whatever causes the reanimation of dead humans to be distasteful, or their blood to be toxic. I’m pretty sure that mosquitos dont feed off of anything dead anyway, so maybe it wont be a concern.
Angryvikingman on 29 Dec 2009 at 2:26 pm #
Lets hope this all starts in winter when bloodborne transmission through bites would be lower due to people being bundled up, and there not being any mosquitos.
3-15 INF on 29 Dec 2009 at 7:31 pm #
well if were talking max brooks zombies like i kinda though was already agreed, mosquitoes are not a carrier, and parasites will not bite infected flesh
ThatScoutKid on 01 Jan 2010 at 6:16 pm #
the think if mosquitos were able to be zombiefied it wouldnt last long because my general idea is that zombies are undead and cant regenerate muscle so if a mosquito was a zombie beating its wings so fast would tear up the muscle and then it wouldnt be able to fly. sorry this post sounds like shit i slept 3 hours then had to bury my dog but do you guys get what im sayin?
StoneTree on 05 Jan 2010 at 9:40 am #
I totally agree with scoutkid about zombie mosquitos beating their own wings off (sorry about your dog). And that is assuming that they would even be interested in biting the infected, which is also doubtful. I just like the idea of undead bugs.
Awildgoose on 08 Jan 2010 at 10:54 pm #
If you were patient 0 would zombies notice you since you are infected?
But if I was patient 1, bullet to brain.
patient zero on 18 Jan 2010 at 9:59 am #
well i dont know about anyone else but i wouldnt kill patient zero, why you ask? simply because its the very first, why just kill something that you have a chance to study? i understand the risk it could hold to human kind but if it is contained then the infection cant spread, right?
Philip on 10 Feb 2010 at 2:45 am #
if i was patient 1 and just killed patient 0, i’d off myself immediately. that would remove the chance of my loved ones not being able to kill me because of sentimental reasons and hopefully eliminate the risk of it escalating to pandemic levels. as cool as a zombie apocalypse would be, i don’t rightly want to be the cause of it lol
ThatScoutKid on 25 Feb 2010 at 6:50 pm #
ive already told my family, if i get hella sick then go into a coma, and go brain dead i wanna be cremated and shot into space