Solanum virus

Solanum is a virus that is in the Maxs Brooks book zombie survival guide.

The effects of infection
Solanum is described as working by traveling through the bloodstream from the point of entry to the brain, where the virus replicates in the cells of the frontal lobe, thus turning the frontal lobe into an entirely new organ that does not need food, water, or even air to survive; it can be described as a completely self-sufficient organism.

Their one and only goal after being infected will be to find and reinfect other individuals, like a virus. With the blood to its brain gone the ghoul is basically brain dead, making it rely only on its lowest and most basic needs such as food. The only way to stop this is to destroy the brain or remove the head. Note that if the zombie is decapitated, the head still remains a threat.

The symptoms occur in the following order. The timeline may be several hours off, depending on the number and location of the bites, and the size and resilience of the victim.

Hour 1- Pain and discoloration of the infected area. Immediate clotting of the wound.

Hour 5- Fever between 99 °F. and 103 °F. Chills, slight dementia, vomiting, and acute pain in the joints.

Hour 8- Numbing of extremities and infected area, increased fever from 103 °F to 106 °F. Increased dementia and loss of muscular coordination.

Hour 11- Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness, and slowed heart rate.

Hour 16- Coma.

Hour 20- Cardiac arrest and cessation of brain activity.

Hour 23- Reanimation.

Solanum is extremely contagious and 100% fatal. Physical contact with infected blood or saliva always results in infection. Ingestion of infected flesh results in permanent death unless the victim has open mouth sores. Solanum is fatal to all living organisms, though humans are the only organisms that will reanimate. Parasitic insects, such as mosquitoes, reject infected hosts 100% of the time. All animals will instinctively run, swim or fly away from zombies.