Health Officials Warn of Zombie Virus in Public Lakes and Rivers

By Bulletin Staff

On the heels of recent cases of people becoming infected with the so-called “brain-eating amoeba” after swimming in public lakes, health officials are renewing warnings that people are also at risk of contracting the zombie virus from their local swimming hole.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, the brain-eating amoeba, which also goes by its scientific name Naegleria fowleri, can cause a brain infection when a person gets water carrying the amoeba up their nose.

The CDC confirmed a case of naegleria fowleri infection from waters at a hot spring in Nevada this past summer, and a Florida man is thought to have contracted the infection earlier this year after rinsing his sinuses with tap water that carried the amoeba.

The National Center for Zombie Diseases (NCZD), part of the CDC, has confirmed only one case this year of a person contracting the zombie virus while swimming in a public lake. That follows three cases in 2022 and two cases in 2021.

However, the NCZD warned that even these low numbers are worrisome because, like the brain-eating amoeba, the zombie virus is almost always fatal, and also because zombie virus infections quite often result in further casualties as a result of the undead swimmers attacking and biting other people, who then become zombies themselves.

In the most recent incident in Florida in June, for example, a man at a shoreline picnic apparently zombified after swimming in a lake near Tallahassee. He turned within two hours of exposure, authorities said, and then attacked other picnickers, resulting in a total of four other undead that first responders had to put down.

Subsequent testing by the local health department revealed the presence of the zombie virus in the lake, which was closed until further notice while authorities consider options for eliminating the virus in the water.

Florida Fish and Wildlife officials, meanwhile, denied rumors that zombified alligators had been found in the same lake, noting that there have been no recorded cases of zombie alligators in Florida since 2017.

Not all strains of the zombie virus are transmissible through the water, according to the NCZD, and only bodies of fresh water are potential carriers of the virus, as salt water quickly kills the zombie virus. Like Naegleria fowleri, the zombie virus is most commonly detected in warm waters from late spring through early fall, as the virus cannot survive in colder water or ice.

In an interview, Dr. Gianni Weissmuller, a zombovirologist with the NCZD, pointed to key differences between Naegleria fowleri and the zombie virus. For example, symptoms of infection by the brain-eating amoeba usually start appearing around five days after exposure and include fever, headache and a stiff neck.

Exposure to the zombie virus typically results in zombification within hours, the doctor said, and the symptoms include fever, delirium and, following death, reanimation and an insatiable hunger for human flesh and brains.

Dr. Weissmuller also noted that the amoeba is thought to enter the body exclusively through the nose, and swimmers can minimize their risk of exposure to Naegleria fowleri by holding their nose if they jump or dive into the water, wearing a nose clip, or simply not putting their head into the water.

Swimmers are at risk of infection by the water-borne zombie virus only if they have open cuts or sores that are exposed to the virus, or if they have ulcers or other gastrointestinal bleeding and swallows infected water.

Dr. Weissmuller was quick to point out that water treatment facilities specifically test for the zombie virus and that the chemicals used to process drinking water should kill the virus.

The doctor also refuted conspiracy theories suggesting the government actually is adding the zombie virus to treated water in an attempt to slowly zombify the public. “The government really isn’t that organized, nor do they need to bother,” the doctor said. “Social media are doing a fine job of helping us all turn ourselves into zombies without the government’s help.”

Additional Reading:

• Zombie-related Human Deaths Tied to Extreme Heatwaves Will Triple by 2050 – Report
• FAQ on Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as the “brain-eating ameba” (CDC)
• Gall AM, Mariñas BJ, Lu Y, Shisler JL (2015) Waterborne Viruses: A Barrier to Safe Drinking Water. PLoS Pathog 11(6):e1004867. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1004867

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