In recent times people have experienced an apocalypse. Covid-19 was a punch in the gut that had many people wondering if the end of the world was near. In hindsight it was not, but it raised the question how realistic a complete breakdown of society is where survivors were forced to live in harsh conditions and avoid those that were infected.

If this scenario sounds familiar that’s because it shares many elements with the fictional undead, or zombies. Zombies and medicine have more in common than people realize and both parties feed off each other in a strange but strong connection that allows them to grow from each other.

One of the earliest examples of this connection comes from George Romero’s 1968 classic, “Night of the Living Dead.” Romero’s film is one of the first depictions of what modern audiences know as zombies. Many characteristics from the undead are taken directly from the antagonists of the movie, the slow walk, the hunger for flesh, and the ability to turn others into zombies. Romero took inspiration from real events in the medical world during his time developing the movie.

In the Film it states that people began to turn due to radiation from a satellite dish, which is ironic because also in 1968 the Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act was passed to protect people from radiation emissions from electronic products. This is not coincidence; Romero used the world of medicine around him and took elements of real-world happenings and input them into his story involving a crisis of the undead.

Medical crises are common in lots of zombie fiction. A second piece that shows evidence of that is the graphic novel “The Walking Dead,” written by Robert Kirkman. In the first chapter of the series, we are plunged right into the apocalypse where the protagonist Rick is exposed to a zombified world with a small group of survivors.

The government advised people to go to large cities in order to protect them, but it ends up killing even more since they are in a concentrated place. We see this in real medicine as well. During covid the CDC had a loose understanding of the virus and therefore had to make some educated guesses on what would work to protect citizens. The Government plays a vital role in large crises and being prepared for them can help save lives as opposed to creating more chaos.

Preparedness is discussed In Tara C. Smith’s “Zombie Infections: Epidemiology, Treatment, and Prevention,” along with the epidemiology of zombies and how their fictional qualities could be useful in real-world medical issues. The article explores the epidemiology of zombie infections in a way that mirrors how infectious diseases spread, discussing transmission processes like bites, airborne pathogens, and insect vectors like Rabies, Ebola, and Malaria. The difference in incubation periods also reflects real-life infectious diseases, where symptoms can appear within hours or take weeks to develop.

Back to public health preparedness, another key connection, as the challenges of containing zombie outbreaks through quarantine measures, vaccination campaigns, and emergency response protocols closely resemble real-world responses to pandemics, including those seen during covid. The modeling of zombie outbreaks shows actual epidemiological models used to predict disease spread and guide policy decisions.

By framing these serious medical topics within the entertaining context of a zombie apocalypse, we can effectively engage people while encouraging critical thinking about real public health challenges.

Similarly, in Gerry Canavan’s first chapter of “The Walking Med” we are greeted too even more zombie tropes and how they affect real medicine. The topic of losing individuality is discussed and how being a zombie creates that loss. Zombies are not seen as human and travel in large clusters with very little separating them in appearance and will, they want to eat brains. The allusion of zombies as fictional characters and as people who have lost emotional and physical uniqueness relates to some illnesses that literally create zombies out of people.

In understanding the rules and relations of zombies in fiction we can take truth from it and apply it to closely related situations in modern medicine. Tropes from zombie movies come from somewhere and are not just randomly created. There are a lot of events that occur that provide inspiration for zombie fiction and from fiction truths within society and medicine are reaffirmed and given a new perspective.

Now, we will indulge in “Zombies-A Pop Culture Resource for Public Health Awareness.” This article looks at the concept of zombies that is rooted in African folklore from Ghana to Nigeria. It highlights once again the inspirational connection between zombie outbreaks and how they mirror real-world infectious diseases, particularly rabies. It notes how zombies in popular media are portrayed as victims of a viral infection that spreads rapidly, similar to how real diseases are transmitted in society. This includes the fear that comes with the virus and how the threat of the spreading of it creates mass panic and confusion.

People in film and in real life get riled up during health crises and the distress it causes requires health professionals to be able to deal with the very real occurrence of a major disaster in medicine and disease control. These stories show how our world is not so different from the ones we watch on screens. Being prepared and understanding protocols to prevent possible outbreaks is important in the medical field, regardless of whether it is learned from fiction or medical media.

Moreover, zombies and modern medicine are linked through their portrayal of viral infections and disease spread, offering a unique way to engage the public in health education. By examining the spread of a zombie virus, these narratives can highlight key public health concepts such as transmission, symptoms, and preparedness.

The two inspire each other. Real world medical cases and world defying pandemics have influenced zombie media. Conversely, it is from this media that inspiration is taken on certain medical pieces, and the cycle continues. Ultimately, the connection between zombies and medicine not only entertains but also educates, fostering awareness about real-world health issues and encouraging proactive responses to potential epidemics.

Just when you thought modern medicine couldn’t get any more wacky, zombies became tools for the CDC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been using zombies to help citizens with disaster preparedness. Similarly, this disaster scenario occurs in the first chapter of the graphic novel, “The Walking Dead.” TWD for short investigates the age old question of what would happen if a zombie related disaster struck the globe. The “White Coat, Black Art” from CBC radio explored the CDC’s zombie usage in their media they provided and there are several similarities.

In TWD we are introduced to a world where hundreds of thousands of people are subject to a zombie outbreak and the government gives them instructions on the safest survival procedures. This connects to the CDC’s zombie campaign from 2011 titled “Zombie Preparedness”, which cleverly promoted emergency procedures combined with the public’s popular interests in media. TWD’s government highlighted heading into big cities to ensure safety, which turned to be detrimental since people ended up becoming zombies in larger quantities instead.

This information related to ‘The Walking Dead” was used as inspiration for the CDC Since their members were invited to the set of the AMC show based on the graphic novel. They stated that the show was used as a major inspiration for their work on readiness given a disaster occurence. To provide important information to the masses the CDC used a reference that the masses wee familiar with. After doing plenty of research they concluded that people would be able to resonate to the zombie example and used many serious and humorous writings to convey their point.

The fact of the matter is making sure that you have supplies and are conserving supplies and resources are important for any crisis that arises and that is made evident in TWD and the CDC media. When Rick is gathering weapons and ammo Morgan reminds him to conserve his shots and make them count in the first chapter of the graphic novel. Conservation, an important tactic when it comes to surviving disaster.

Modern medicine is taking a turn for the undead. The zombie genre has been captivating audiences for decades now and this crazy can be credited to one of the original depictions of zombies, George Romero’s 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead.” This film inspired the genre and has influenced a generation. This influence has also carried over to modern medicine of all things. We can see elements of NOTLD in Lorenzo Servitje’s “Graphic Medicine Contracts the Zombie Craze.”

Servitje comments on real world medical examples and how their roots and language are related to the characteristics we see in zombie media. For example, in NOTLD we are introduced to creatures that move slowly, have a hunger for human flesh, and a deprived sense of intelligence. These elements are at the forefront of most zombie media when it comes to the creatures and illusions to them are made in Servitje’s writing.

These illusions involve three real medically recognized examples of zombies. The first, parasites. Parasites are able to take control of a host through invasive techniques, creating by definition a living zombie. The host’s nervous system is controlled by the parasite which relates to the zombie images from NOTLD where the zombies were being controlled by their hunger of human organisms.

The second of the real-world zombie examples come from a substance all people are familiar with, drugs. Certain psychedelic and recreational drugs often put people into a trance-like state, shuffling side to side aimlessly and sometimes attacking others in drug induced rages similar that of Romero’s creation. Many have seen addicts stumbling around certain cities moving as if they were zombified like those in NOTLD and medical professionals make the metaphor that these people are themselves, zombies.

The last real-world connection Servitje makes is viruses. There are several viruses including gangrene and necrosis that cause flesh to decay and fall for the bone creating a zombified appearance which creates a pop culture visual of what people know zombies to look like that was shown in Romero’s film. The visual relation helps graphic medicine to depict diseases and create connections that citizens can identify and understand.

Furthermore, medicine has embodied zombies as a metaphor for non-fictional conditions that are seen regularly. A metaphor taken directly from the works of old zombie films, particularly NOTLD. In order for people to understand medical conditions and terminology, common tropes and illusions help to strengthen an understanding of modern medicine.