Zombie Fears Crop Up After Miami Attack, CDC Assures Public on Non-Existence of Zombies

Recent news of cannibalistic attacks, most especially the face-eating incident on one homeless man in Miami, has led many to fear a zombie apocalypse. The CDC or Center for Disease Control and Prevention, however, assures the public that zombies are still the stuff of fiction. In an email sent by CDC spokesperson David Daigle to Huffington Post, he says that the agency is not aware of any virus that would generate zombie-like indications. Nonetheless, recent happenings had people wondering whether it’s reasonable to fear an imminent, more widespread zombie attack.

The Miami attack

On Saturday, Miami cops shot dead 31-year old Rudy Eugene after he gnawed off the entire face of a homeless man, Ronald Poppo, somewhere on the McArthur’s Biscayne Boulevard off-ramp. The incident took place on a humid day at 2pm, when Eugene stripped naked, walked to the opposite side of the bridge, pulled his victim’s clothes off and started to chew on the victim’s face. The attack left Poppo on the brink of survival, as most parts of his face have been chewed off – eyes, nose, mouth and jaw.

Other horrifying zombie-like cases

The Huffington Post has reported on other similar incidents, including news of 21-year old Alexander Kinyua who cut up his roommate on Tuesday and devoured his heart and brain. In neighboring Canada, an unnamed porn actor is evading cops after he allegedly murdered another man, cut his body parts, and ate flesh from the corpse after raping it.

This brand of creepiness has already reached the animal kingdom as well, as scientists have discovered a new fungus from the rainforests of Brazil. This fungus, known as Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani, is observed to infect an ant, and kill it after invading its brain.

Daigle, speaking for CDC, reiterates on the non-existence of zombie-like viruses. There are fictional viruses, although several zombie-like indications may be traced to triggers other than actual viruses.