"Rage" Virus

I have recently watched the movie 28 Days Later for the 1,000,000th time and i am currently counting down the days until the sequal 28 Weeks Later hits Theaters May 11th. The question still is in my mind though...Is there a possibility that this mutation of the Ebola Virus could be Created.

A few Specs on the Rage Virus

-Spreads is 20 seconds
-Increases Speed and Strength Dramatically
- Infection can be spread from a single drop of blood
- Grants the victim ability to sense a non infected nearby
-Pain doesnt seem to be an issue

Could a virus like this be created or does something like it already exist? and if there it was how fast would there be an antidote and how would it be given out to a mass raging population of The Infected?

Don't know but whoever would develop this virus is very sick.

Originally posted by arius
Don't know but whoever would develop this virus is very sick.

This statement is true but perhaps scientists would use it for military purposes. Drop a chemical bomb on a group of enemies the Rage Virus spreads and they could take out themselves without any loss of valuable Soldiers.

-Spreads is 20 seconds
-Increases Speed and Strength Dramatically
- Infection can be spread from a single drop of blood
- Grants the victim ability to sense a non infected nearby
-Pain doesnt seem to be an issue

Honestly, and this comes from someone who has a degree in molecular genetics and virology and who has hundreds of hours of research in genetics logged, the amount of genetic material necessary to create such changes in an organism would be so insanely large, it would not be able to fit in a virus or bacterium.

This would involve inducing a virus to become airborne, making it neurotropic (attracted to neural cells), able to disable neural tissue, caused an up-regulation of dystrophin protein (responsible for most of musculature), some sort of extra perception to sense infected individuals (not even sure how this would work, maybe some sort of phereomone?), and the necessary viral envelope/protecton to be airborne.

Like I said, this is impossible and will never happen, as the genetic changes are just to large. You're more likely to cause a cancer than to successfully alter a person in such a way.

Good movie though, definitely! Can't wait for the sequel =).

I understand but could an Outbreak of a mutated Rabies spread? Humans would have the symptoms of Infected Rabies animals (Agression/Rage Attacking random objects/people) The infection would be with Saliva(Victim could be bitten) and Blood and the mutation would allow the infected to have the exact if not more aggresive behavior than animals and to take over the victim faster lets not exaggerate and say 20 seconds but perhaps an Hour or at most a Day? Could something like that happen?

Rabies doesn't cause the same symptoms in humans as it does in animals. It causes anxiety, but nothing on the scale of lashing out violently or hunting others down. By them time you're feeling this agitation and anxiety, you're already paralyzed or in no condition to move.

You would also never be able to "sense" others who were infected, you would still feel plenty of pain, and you would experience either jerky movement or be paralyzed, neither of which fit your idea of "faster, stronger" infected patients.

Also, rabies would never spread through someone's body in 20 seconds, an hour, or a day. Try several days to a week.

Originally posted by Apokolypse
-Spreads is 20 seconds

We can actually stop speculation there and stamp "impossible."

Blood takes 1 minute to circulate through the body. In order to expel the virus, you need a certain "load"... a certain number of cells. One cell probably won't cause any trouble because your body is programmed to kill viruses. So you have to get a virus load of millions of viruses produced in your lungs to be sneezed out... in 20 seconds.

Entry into a cell isn't that fast. Replication isn't that fast.

-Increases Speed and Strength Dramatically

This reminds me of Issac Asimov's "thiotimoline
en.wikipedia.org...

If it increases in strength and speed, by about the 10th victim, it's going to be infecting people before they actually encounter the plague carrier.

- Infection can be spread from a single drop of blood

A virus load that dense would not arise in 20 seconds ...and would be so heavy that your body would fail.

- Grants the victim ability to sense a non infected nearby
-Pain doesnt seem to be an issue

Because they'd be dead.

Could a virus like this be created or does something like it already exist? and if there it was how fast would there be an antidote and how would it be given out to a mass raging population of The Infected?

I think sitting them down and making them watch twenty weeks of American Idol reruns should do it. They'd be in a stupor after five hours and intert after a day.

I'm sure glad you translated that into my brand of english... otherwise I wouldn't have understood a word you said.... Thanks. Now that I at least think I can pretend to know what you said. I agree. The amount of work does seem to be insurmountable.

Originally posted by Apokolypse
I understand but could an Outbreak of a mutated Rabies spread? Humans would have the symptoms of Infected Rabies animals (Agression/Rage Attacking random objects/people)

Actually, rabies in animals doesn't act like that, either. It can lie latant for months. In human it can lie dormant for up to 7 years:
www.nlm.nih.gov...

The first symptoms are an avoidance of others and a loss of appetite. They quit drinking. As the central nervous system becomes affected, they startle easily or become enraged ... or become difficult to wake up. When paralysis starts, they die soon after that.
www.animalhealthchannel.com...

The infection would be with Saliva(Victim could be bitten) and Blood and the mutation would allow the infected to have the exact if not more aggresive behavior than animals and to take over the victim faster lets not exaggerate and say 20 seconds but perhaps an Hour or at most a Day? Could something like that happen?

Well, beyond the unlikelihood of a virus load that high, the fact is that we don't all react to the same chemicals in the same way. High levels of adrenaline may make one person more prone to rage or another more prone to stress or tears or cause another person to retreat (the "leave me in peace" attitude.) Furthermore, we're capable of reasoning even when we're in psychosis.

So... only in the movies or comic books.

Originally posted by Byrd

Originally posted by Apokolypse
I understand but could an Outbreak of a mutated Rabies spread? Humans would have the symptoms of Infected Rabies animals (Agression/Rage Attacking random objects/people)

Actually, rabies in animals doesn't act like that, either. It can lie latant for months. In human it can lie dormant for up to 7 years:
www.nlm.nih.gov...

The first symptoms are an avoidance of others and a loss of appetite. They quit drinking. As the central nervous system becomes affected, they startle easily or become enraged ... or become difficult to wake up. When paralysis starts, they die soon after that.
www.animalhealthchannel.com...

The infection would be with Saliva(Victim could be bitten) and Blood and the mutation would allow the infected to have the exact if not more aggresive behavior than animals and to take over the victim faster lets not exaggerate and say 20 seconds but perhaps an Hour or at most a Day? Could something like that happen?

Well, beyond the unlikelihood of a virus load that high, the fact is that we don't all react to the same chemicals in the same way. High levels of adrenaline may make one person more prone to rage or another more prone to stress or tears or cause another person to retreat (the "leave me in peace" attitude.) Furthermore, we're capable of reasoning even when we're in psychosis.

So... only in the movies or comic books.

Well, Thanks for completely shutting down my physical being...

But seriously though..You've made things clearer and now i can see that is it infact Impossible for this type of Virus to spread. Guess i gotta put the shotgun and extra ammo back in the closet for a little while huh? But again Thank you for the time in explaining the details. All of you.

Double Post Apologies.
[edit on 25-4-2007 by Apokolypse]

[edit on 25-4-2007 by Apokolypse]

about that rage virus go here and read up its pretty damn close to it on the other hand i think it is....

www.8bm.com...

Originally posted by arius
Don't know but whoever would develop this virus is very sick.

In the graphic novel, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, the virus was actually meant to do the opposite. Make people more passive. the experiments seen done to the monkey were what i believe to be similar to the ones in A Clockwork Orange, making people repulsed by violence.
And if i remember right, the comic also references using a strain of Ebola as a quick and efficient carrier.

So a virus has pretty much been ruled out as a cause for sudden aggressive behavior, seemingly increased strength, increased pain tolerance, and somewhat of a penchant for random assaults involving biting, and even killing. Makes sense to me.
But lets not rule out the possibility of this happening to a person.
Has anyone considered the use of a drug?

The "rage disease" as a "culture bound syndrome" is actually a fairly reasonable idea. Now... the thing is, it would only occur to one culture and only if the cultural setup is right. In the East, there's a type of "plague" that runs around communities called "koro" where the victims believe their sexual organs are vanishing into their bodies:
en.wikipedia.org...

They blame it on spirits or witch doctors and the like. People have been killed because they were accused of making others' genitals vanish.

America had a similar thing with the witch hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials, and the "tarantella"/dancing plagues of Europe were also a culture bound sydrome.
en.wikipedia.org...

Interesting, eh?

I have a doctorate in neurol phsycology and a bachelors degree in viral genetics. This being said,viruses consist of genetic material contained within a protective protein coat called a capsid. They infect a wide variety of organisms: both eukaryotes (animals, plants, protists, and fungi) and prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea). Viral diseases such as rabies, yellow fever and smallpox have affected humans for many centuries. In these cases, it is very possible (although highly unlikely due to the enourmouse complexity of a virus such as the rage virus) for a virus with the fast rate spreading ability like the smallpox virus to be genetically combined or partially rewritten to have similar characteristics of the so called "rage virus" in the film 28 days later. Now i do not see this happening any time soon due to our just blossoming interest and knowledge of genetic mutation and code implication, but it is very ignorant even for someone with little knowledge of genetics and viral nuerology to call this virus impossible to create. I will end this in saying that many countries are just now creating and testing genetically altered viruses on animals and mostly primates to simulate what the effects of them would be on humans, some people might even call these viruses weapons although the extent of their symptoms are little known to those other then the scienists that are creating them. So to sum this up and answer apokolypses' question, i would keep that shotgun loaded and under your pillow because if a virus like this were engineered, and it is possible, the likes of which would spread dramatically as in miles a day and even across oceans via cargo ships. Im not saying that it will happen soon or event in years to come. all that i am saying is that it is possible.

cmon gentleman^^ we have biological and chemical wars invented before a long time....we probably have invented such horrible viruses that are far worse then that...and we all know that
do i have to remind u we hade a 3.6mach plane in the cold war invented?
well imagine what virus have we invented in 2007....just because the government dosnt says everything....thats theyr job....it dosnt mean we havent advanced FAR BEOYND ur beliefs

Originally posted by geddokeys
Has anyone considered the use of a drug?

BZ can make people aggressive in small doses, although in "therapeutic" doses you are basically just an imbecile.

I remember hearing rumors that there was some research into behavioral modification via infectants like a brucellosis strain that was engineered to make you irritable, anxious, paranoid and prone to do stupid things. I don't really know if that got the go-ahead.

More promising might be neural peptides. There are a number of neuropeptides that are linked to locus ceruleus and limbic stimulation, maybe something like an aerosol corticotropin releasing factor or a really amped-up oxytocin analog would do it.

There are a lot of neural peptides that we don't know beans about, and they're small enough to deliver transdermally or by aerosol.

reply to post by Apokolypse


You are incorrect about one point: It does not increase either speed or strength. It simply removes all impediments to aggression, thus making the infected seem faster on the attack because they do not hesitate.

That having been said, a virus with a gestation period of 20 seconds is completely unheard of. How is the virus going to travel from the point of infection to the brain in that period of time, let alone reproduce to the point that it could so totally take over the brain?

Still, I could imagine a virus that could have an effect like this within a day, and the fact that I can imagine it is disturbing. What's more, a virus with a gestation of a day would be WORSE than the Rage virus in the movie, because the infected host could get on a plane and travel before showing symptoms.

Actually the odds of something like that being created arn't all that far fetched as you all seem to believe. The ebola virus is actually a very strong and aggresive virus, showing symptons in a matter of moments. Whether to be "tears" in the skin, vomiting black blood, and have black stool. It also was never air born. The virus was transmitted threw touch with an infected person. In the case of 28 days/weeks later. The concept of something like that happening although slim, are not impossible. You see the virus wouldn't have to move threw the intire body to "infect" you. It could go for the brain, once in the brain it would have controle to everything. Thats why the adreniline is pumped so quickly out threw the person, accelerating that will also accelerate blood flow.
The thought of them "Noticing" non-infected. They never "Notice" or "sense" them they sniff them out resorting to primal instincts, like a wolf sniffing for a rabbit in the snow or etc.
Taking the Ebola virus and messing around with it's genetics isn't impossilbe they do it every day with Vaccines and other organisms. They have crossed a fish gene with a strawbarrie gene preventing the strawbarries from dieing of frost in cold conditions. Also another plant a certain banana or so they crossed it's genes, with another organisms genes to prevent it from dieing off, by a plant virus that was nitoriouse for killing that plant.
With vaccines they take the virus, like for example the flu. They take it reprogram it's genetics so instead of it doing harm to your body, it will go into your body and your body will make the white blood cells it needs to fight it off. So you only get temporarly sick but do not feel the full on affects of the flu.