The first step is to make sure you are prepared. Obviously we all have a zombie apocalypse drawer, that’s a given, we just need to make sure it is up to date. No you do, honestly. Where do you keep your spare batteries? Candles and matches? Pen knife and first aid kit? Well there you are. It may be a box or cupboard, but the key thing is to have it all in the same place. It makes it easier in an emergency, tip out the drawer into a bag, add wet kit and a jumper and away you go.

We keep emergency birthday cards in ours; just because it’s an apocalypse doesn’t mean you have to let standards slip.

It is obviously important to get this preparation right, luckily the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA has a Zombie Preparedness plan which includes an All-Hazards Emergency Kit list.

Next step is to not get bitten. This means looking out for people who show symptoms of the disease. According the the British Medical Journal (BMJ), symptoms of zombiism include: aggression, a taste for human flesh, ‘a shambling gait, tendency to moan loss of dexterity and prior personality traits, and the eventual rotting of flesh.’ (Smith, 2015) The real issue here is the incubation period, the time during which someone is infectious but shows no symptoms, this can range from a few seconds to several days. It’s therefore best to keep your distance.

As we mentioned in our podcast episode, you need to keep an eye out for people around you who might hide a zombie bite; known as ‘rat-lickers’ they should be avoided at all costs.