Given the imminent threat of a zombie outbreak, it is good to know that some mathematicians/epidemiologists are taking zombies seriously. In Munz et al (2009) "WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION" recently published in an edited volume (Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress) [and yes, the last author's last name really has a question mark at the end. see: http://www.mathstat.uottawa.ca/~rsmith/ ). According to their model, only quick aggressive attacks have a chance of staving off the end of the world. The abstract describes it all:
Zombies are a popular figure in pop culture/entertainment and they are usually
portrayed as being brought about through an outbreak or epidemic. Consequently,
we model a zombie attack, using biological assumptions based on popular zombie
movies. We introduce a basic model for zombie infection, determine equilibria and
their stability, and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions. We then refine the
model to introduce a latent period of zombification, whereby humans are infected, but
not infectious, before becoming undead. We then modify the model to include the
effects of possible quarantine or a cure. Finally, we examine the impact of regular,
impulsive reductions in the number of zombies and derive conditions under which
eradication can occur. We show that only quick, aggressive attacks can stave off the
doomsday scenario: the collapse of society as zombies overtake us all.
This graph says it all:
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