Popular Mechanics evaluated the science of The Crazies yesterday.

As PM describes it, “a genetically engineered toxin created by the military escapes into the water supply of idyllic Ogden Marsh, Iowa, transforming the town’s residents into a bloody, infected horde.”  In other words, it is a zombie movie.

The premise is not implausible: the filmmakers consulted the CDC and based the disease on tetanus, rabies, and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.  With enough work, one probably could engineer a toxin that would short out behavioral control and induce rage.

As the virus spreads, the government takes drastic, Outbreak-style quarantine measures, sealing the town off.  While it would take a highly threatening disease to trigger this kind of action,  it is imaginable.  Quarantines have a legal basis, and a horrific, contagious disease might trigger a radical approach.

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