Real-Life Disease That Make You Act Like A Zombie
It’s close to midnight
Something evil’s lurking from the dark
Under the moonlight
You see a sight that almost stops your heart — a real-life zombie.
While Dawn of the Dead-esque flesh eaters haunt strictly movies, books and folklore, some zombies are stranger and scarier than fiction.
Here are 5 totally real diseases that turn humans into zombies
- Rabies
Typically spread through the saliva from an animal bite, rabies is one of the deadliest diseases out there. Though incredibly rare, if an unvaccinated person is infected, it’s nearly always fatal if untreated.
Symptoms include: insomnia, hallucinations, fever, difficulty swallowing, paralysis, and more.
2. African Sleeping Sickness
Medically referred to as African Trypanosomiasis, the sleeping sickness is spread to humans via tsetse fly bites — flies found only in rural Africa. If left untreated, this disease is fatal, however, it’s treatable with the proper medication.
Symptoms include: fever, headaches, joint pains, behavior changes, poor coordination, and more.
3. Leprosy
While more problematic in the past and rare these days, leprosy still exists. Spread by airborne respiratory droplets from a cough or sneeze, it affects the skin, eyes, nose and nervous symptoms. With a proper diagnosis, medical professionals can treat this disease, but it can take 6–12 months.
Symptoms include: red skin blotches, reduced sensation on red blotches,, numbness and weakness in hands and feet, and more.
4. Necrosis
A Greek word meaning “death, the stage of dying, the act of killing” this disease literally destroys cells. External factors like infections, trauma or toxins are almost always the cause of Necrosis, some examples include frostbite, snake bites and spider bites. Since there are many different factors that cause Necrosis, treatment varies from person to person. If left untreated, however, Necrosis is fatal.
Symptoms include: pain, inflammation and skin discoloration at the affected area
5. Kuru Disease
This disease was common among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea, widely known for their cultural practice of eating deceased people’s brains to help their souls pass into the afterlife. This incurable, rare, neurodegenerative disorder is caused by abnormally formed prion proteins leading to tremors, coordination loss and neurodegeneration. Symptoms include: lack of muscle control, dysarthria, emotional instability (including sporadic laughter), difficulty swallowing, and more.
Article sources: CDC, WebMD, Mayo Clinic, and Michael Jackson
