INSANITY THROUGH INFECTION

Understanding our problems by exploring our fears…

Amy Martiny

IRRATIONAL FEAR:

What are they?Zombies are

corpses reanimated

by a supernatural,

extraterrestrial or

biological force Where are they?Everywhere!!

No seriously.

Movies, TV,

Books, you name it.

ZOMBIES

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…

Zombies can also be categorized as a form of POSSESSION.

(oh hi)

SO WHY ARE WE SO SCARED OF

ZOMBIES?

Aside from the obvious…

OKAY-

LET’S BE RATIONAL…

Our irrational fears stem from rational concerns and real circumstance

When we break it down, what are the two main concerns coming from Zombies?

1. Fear of Epidemics2. Fear of Insanity

1. FEAR OF EPIDEMICS

-Vast spreading of disease

-Breakdown of civilization

-Separation from humanity

http://www.movietome.com/pages/media_player/index.php?video_id=OKnKgPw-6E643wS0oAE&tag=videos_module;watch;0

What do I mean by insanity?

-Dementia-

Defined as:

- A loss of mental functions that is not categorized as a disease itself, but as a group of symptoms caused by other diseases or conditions

- impaired cognitive ability within the parts of the brain involved with learning, memory, decision- making, and language

2. FEAR OF INSANITY

Zombies = Epidemic of Insanity-Loss of self-

control-Loss of identity

HOW WE LOSE OURSELVES

Syphilis

Cysticercosis(Neurocysticerco

sis)

Typhoid Fever

Malaria

-STI caused by bacterium Treponema pallidum

-Infection caused by the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium

-Illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi

-P. falciparum infections are complicated by serious organ failures or abnormalities in the patient's blood or metabolism

“All roads lead to dementia…”-Amy Martiny

ONE MORE REASON TO AVOID THE FLU…

Schizophrenia- pregnant women who

become ill with the flu are more likely to give birth to children who will develop schizophrenia

- one fifth of all schizophrenia cases are caused by prenatal infections

- autism, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder have also been linked to bacterial, viral or parasitic infections in utero, in childhood or in maturity

The most common cause of dementia being Alzheimer’s with about 50 other known causes.

Other diseases

- ADC or HADtype of dementia found in patients with late-stage HIV/AIDS

- Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD)neural cell death caused by proteins called prions

Prions (proteinaceous infectious particles) are the proteins responsible for a group of infectious diseases know as TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies)-These diseases include CJD along with “Mad cow disease” and Scrapie (disease contracted from sheep)

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

Infection may lead to insanity (Title Line!)

Prevention?-Face our fears by protecting our health

-understand infection, save our brains

WH

AT A

RE W

E R

EA

LLY

A

FR

AID

OF?