By Bulletin Staff
The United States last year experienced a sharp increase in the number of humans turned into the undead after being bitten by mosquitos carrying the zombie virus, according to a report from the National Center for Zombie Diseases.
The NCZD, part of the Centers for Disease Control, recorded a total of 43 separate cases of humans who were zombified after being bitten by virus-carrying mosquitos in 2022. That’s up from just 17 cases in 2021 and just 12 incidents in 2020.
Moreover, the NCZD highlighted that when mosquito bites turn humans into zombies, those zombies inevitably attack other humans, resulting in additional casualties. In all, the CDC estimates mosquitos were linked to 371 deaths in 2022, against 136 in 2021 and 97 in 2020.
The center’s report suggests that warmer than usual weather across much of the nation fueled increased mosquito populations, including the specific types of mosquitos capable of spreading the zombie virus. “When it’s wet and warm, mosquitos thrive, and it was wetter and warmer than usual last year. And when mosquitos thrive, we see mosquito-linked zombifications rise accordingly,” the report notes.
Scientists have identified more than 3,700 different types of mosquitos worldwide, and the US is home to more than 200 different types. But only about a dozen varieties of the bloodsucking insects spread diseases that affect humans. The list of mosquito-borne viruses includes Dengue, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, West Nile, Yellow fever and Zika, among others.
CDC researchers have identified 11 types of mosquitos capable of transmitting the zombie virus, and they have isolated seven strains of the undead plague capable of being transmitted by mosquito bite. The researchers have dubbed these bug-plus-virus combinations “zomsquitos.”
Some regions of the country were hit harder by 2022’s mosquito-borne zombie plague than others. States that traditionally hail the mosquito as their “state bird” in the summer months, like Alaska, Florida, Maine and Wisconsin (among others), notched more zombie outbreaks linked to the insects than drier states like Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
However, New York was the site of the largest zombie outbreak linked to zomsquitos in 2022: The so-called Steiner outbreak at a resort on Oquaga Lake in the Catskills saw at least seven people suffer mosquito bites that resulted in zombification, leading to a total of 47 casualties.
The NCZD notes that not all mosquito bites will lead to zombification. In fact, most bites from the insect are far less lethal, causing only mild to severe itching rather than an urge to rip the flesh off the bones of the living.
To become a zomsquito, one of the offending mosquitos bites a zombie and absorbs the virus along with whatever remnants of blood or other bodily fluids the insect is able to suck out of the undead individual. When the now-infected zomsquito subsequently bites a living human, the zombie virus is passed to the victim. The victim then zombifies within one to two hours of the bite.
For people who live in areas with large mosquito populations, the center recommends taking the normal precautions against mosquitos, including removing standing bodies of water, trimming landscaping that provides breeding grounds, clearing debris that provide shade or retain water, and screening in windows and doors.
The CDC also recommends against camping or visiting areas likely to have large concentrations of zombies during the summer months. “If you must go into a zone with a high density of the undead, be sure to take adequate precautions against both mosquitos and zombies,” the centers recommend.
The government advises taking a maximally aggressive stance against any mosquitos encountered.
“Because it is impossible for a layperson to distinguish zomsquitos from regular, non-zombie-virus carrying mosquitos, and because mosquito bites are extremely annoying, we recommend using the greatest amount of force you are comfortable with to destroy every single mosquito you encounter, much as you would destroy any zombie you encounter,” the NCZD states.
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