How come the water is not infected?

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Originally Posted by wooly

I would guess that whatever the infectious agent is, it does not survive outside of the host organism very long but is passed only by direct contact. The survivors have been in close contact on so many occasions but only infected by direct injury.

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There is no evidence (yet) that says how long the pathogen (to allow for more possibilities than the word virus grants us). Tommy got the Jumpers guts sprayed all over him and about five minutes later it gets into his wounds and he turns. For all we know, the pathogen can live outside a host body for years until evidence is produced to the contrary.

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Originally Posted by nikvoodoo

There is no evidence (yet) that says how long the pathogen (to allow for more possibilities than the word virus grants us). Tommy got the Jumpers guts sprayed all over him and about five minutes later it gets into his wounds and he turns. For all we know, the pathogen can live outside a host body for years until evidence is produced to the contrary.

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Originally Posted by wooly

The scene at the Arena with humans hiding in a pile of mutilated corpses tends to prove this as well. There is no way that in that vile & juicy pile of creature-killed corpses that they did not come across blood or saliva from a creature - they were covered in goo. Yet no infection.

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i think ur forgetting about this. angel and riley came into contact with zombie blood/saliva in the corpse hill, and they didnt turn, so the pathogen will die out in a few days without its host, or so the logic goes, OR ITS A PLOT HOLE!

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Originally Posted by Ra1th

i think ur forgetting about this. angel and riley came into contact with zombie blood/saliva in the corpse hill, and they didnt turn, so the pathogen will die out in a few days without its host, or so the logic goes, OR ITS A PLOT HOLE!

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Not forgetting that at all. It could be that pile of flesh was that of human remains. The zombies rip the flesh off the pile. They don't stick their faces in the food pile and lick it so they can claim an arm or a leg they want to eat later on ;)

If that pile was that of human remains and not that of zombies, it would be perfectly reasonable to think that those dead bodies weren't infected. Have we seen anyone turn from simply a scratch in this series yet? I know in zombie lore, yes, scratches are as bad as bites. But if the pathogen is transmitted by blood/saliva only, scratches would be a way in for the pathogen, but not directly result in an infection.

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Originally Posted by nikvoodoo

Not forgetting that at all. It could be that pile of flesh was that of human remains. The zombies rip the flesh off the pile. They don't stick their faces in the food pile and lick it so they can claim an arm or a leg they want to eat later on ;)

If that pile was that of human remains and not that of zombies, it would be perfectly reasonable to think that those dead bodies weren't infected. Have we seen anyone turn from simply a scratch in this series yet? I know in zombie lore, yes, scratches are as bad as bites. But if the pathogen is transmitted by blood/saliva only, scratches would be a way in for the pathogen, but not directly result in an infection.

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But how did those humans die? zombies kill by using teeth and nails, there HAS to be a transfer of blood, and saliva during the killing, but those people died before they could turn point being there must have been trace amounts of the virus on the bodies, but angel and riley escaped unturned,

and the other thing is zombies cant just "rip" flesh out of the pile, they lack claws, so they must have used their teeth right? or they took the whole body with them

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Originally Posted by nikvoodoo

Not canon per the story revealed so far, but thinking logically - the aftermath of their indoor battles had to have been gory messes, blood and goo sprayed everywhere. Yet the cleanup crew is never infected. What are the odds that not one of them touched wet blood during cleanup? Pretty slim. I've worked in and then cleaned up many a nasty trauma room at work in the ER. No matter how careful, eventually you get some on you. And that is wearing a full splash gown, mask, hood, boots and gloves. What do our survivors have? Street clothes, gloves and mops? One more indication of a short interval for exposure risk.

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In one of the flashback scenes, Chapter 4?, a man comes in direct contact with blood on his skin and doesn't change. I don't say much but what's already there....

I'm thinking the "virus", "pathogen", or whatever this damn thing is, is similar to say HIV. Don't survive for to long out of the body, but can for a certain amount of time. Contact with bodily fluids and transmission into the body by some kind of means is only way of infection. I don't believe HIV can survive in plain water for very long either.

whatever causes dead humans to return to life is some pretty strong stuff. so yeah I forgot my point...????

two things, If I remember correctly that pile inside was human non turned pile, the pile outside was dead zombies. They could have been ripped apart easy without zombie blood or saliva or very minimal especially if the humans were dead prior to the pile.

@cycogod, Also there has not been anything to say that a dead human came back as a zombie only that someone turned while still alive.

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Originally Posted by timberwoof

I'm thinking the "virus", "pathogen", or whatever this damn thing is, is similar to say HIV. Don't survive for to long out of the body, but can for a certain amount of time. Contact with bodily fluids and transmission into the body by some kind of means is only way of infection. I don't believe HIV can survive in plain water for very long either.

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Ah ha! I think you and Wooly are referring to Anaerobic pathogens *slaps forehead* Why didn't I think of that. It basically describes microorganisms that can live without oxygen or may even die if oxygen is present. Some diseases in the world have to have direct fluid transfer in order to survive and cannot live outside a host.

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Originally Posted by Ra1th

and the other thing is zombies cant just "rip" flesh out of the pile, they lack claws, so they must have used their teeth right? or they took the whole body with them

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I've ripped a chicken breast off a whole uncooked chicken without claws... Same principle. Human fingers can tear flesh off bone if you use enough force and find the correct spot.

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Originally Posted by wooly

I think that just gives testimony to how rapid the infection is, and goes along with my theory. Fresh fluid from an infected creature (alive/undead at the time, whatever - still moving lol) transmitted to a new host via broken skin...
Not canon per the story revealed so far, but thinking logically - the aftermath of their indoor battles had to have been gory messes, blood and goo sprayed everywhere. Yet the cleanup crew is never infected. What are the odds that not one of them touched wet blood during cleanup? Pretty slim. I
...Yet our heroes who swam in the goo came out OK despite getting fluids in direct contact with eyes and mouth (Riley did both, spitting and wiping her face). Hence, the agent becomes inactive or dormant over time.

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You brought up the answer in your own response. Broken Skin. Tommy turned because he had a cut from a pipe bomb explosion. There was no indicated injuries or broken skin from Riley and Angel when they immersed themselves in the pile. Same can probably be said for clean up crews. So long as they don't have an open wound, you can touch the blood. You just probably shouldn't.

Am I saying there's no chance the virus/pathogen dies when outside the body? Not at all. That could very well be the case. And that could explain (getting back to the point of this thread) why the water doesn't get infected. All I'm saying is there is no real evidence saying the pathogen dies when it leaves the body yet. We haven't seen it in action enough to rule out the possibility it's like bacteria that grows exponentially in the right conditions.