The Jonas Virus is the virus responsible for the zombie outbreak in the series. It was created by Lee Byeong-chan, a researcher turned biology teacher, in order to remove the concept of fear in humans and replace it with rage by using Toxoplasma gondii with high testosterone levels from the lab hamster he conducted experiments on. The virus affects amygdala, which controls the limbic system. The virus causes the host's skin to start decaying, as there is no fresh blood flowing in them. Lee Byeong-chan used benzodiazepamine to slow down the infection by a few hours.
History[]
Dissatisfied with the school for not taking the bullying of his son seriously as well as lacking the authority to do so, Byeong-chan created the Jonas Virus out of hormones extracted from mice to remove the feeling of fear from human psychology so his son can strike back at his bullies. However, the virus worked too well when he subjected his son to the virus as it not only removed the feeling of fear but also the sense of self-preservation along with intelligence from humans, turning them into feral animalistic zombies. The virus turns fear into rage. Consequently, Byeong-chan tied his infected son and wife up at his home but didn't have the heart to kill them.
Hyosan outbreak[]
Kim Hyeon-ju stumbled upon the lab rat that carried the Jonas Virus and was bitten, she then was taken to the infirmary where she bit the nurse before being sedated and taken to the hospital, the nurse would later succumb to the virus and attack several students, triggering the whole zombie epidemic.
The infection slowly made its way from Hyosan High School towards the city but accelerated when Hyeon-ju reanimated at the hospital and attacked the staff. The virus is responsible for the deaths of at least 50,000 Hyosan residents.
It is later revealed that some people are able to retain human intelligence after being infected as the virus simply bonds with their genes. This gives rise to the special zombie-human hybrid called Half-bie (or Hambie in the Korean version). It's speculated that people who get bitten by zombies can only become a Hambie/Halfbie if they either have no fear while getting bitten or have a great desire to complete their objective. For one to become a hambie, there must be a lot of heat for the white blood cells to ripen.
Variants[]
Zombies[]
Main article: Zombies
Zombies are normal infected individuals that have become mindless, animalistic cannibals who are driven to eat every human around them. They are mostly results of the Jonas Virus' infection. They crave for human blood, and will die if they don't get it. They are most reactive to 24Hz tones.
Halfbies[]
Main article: Halfbies
Halfbies are people who after being infected do not turn feral like normal zombies but instead gain the enhanced strength and agility of conventional zombies, however also a craving for any kind of flesh including human flesh (though the impulse can be controlled). They are sensitive to 24Hz tones.
Effects[]
An example cardiac arrest by the Jonas Virus.
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Another example cardiac arrest by the Jonas Virus.
Once the virus has entered the hosts' cells, their body temperature will noticeably lower and they will begin bleeding from their nose as their sclera and vision turns red and veins visibly pop out. Most of the infected person's organs will shut down, only leaving the virus. Their hearts stop working. This was demonstrated by Kim Min-ji, who suffered a cardiac arrest after being bit by Kang Jin-gu and eventually died of the virus. This virus evolves as soon as it detects antibodies, making it impossible to create a cure. Victims in their final moments seem to see every non-infected person around them in a menacing way, and with the concept of "flight" being removed completely, they turn to attack the uninfected, as seen when Han Gyeong-su turned. However, with the case of half-bies, they do not show any severe effects of the virus as shown with Min Eun-ji and Yoon Gwi-nam, who didn't show any severe symptoms. Nam-ra was shown to have severe halfbie symptoms because her determination to live just wasn't as strong as Yoon Gwi-nam's or Min Eun-ji's. Halfbies may experience similar symptoms but less severe. Halfbies are asymptomatic carriers of the virus as they do not exhibit any symptoms of the virus. This happens because the virus hides in the RNA of cells, making it incredibly hard to detect. The virus tests positive when the virus is active and negative when it is dormant. Some zombies are also seen with blisters on their skin, such as Kim Ji-min and Jung Min-jae.
Virus[]
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Weaponized Virus
In Episode 2, Byeong-chan was able to inject the lab mouse and Jin-su with the Jonas virus as shown in a flashback. This act eventually got one of his students bitten by the mice in the lab, triggering the zombie epidemic.
Trivia[]
- In the webtoon the virus was shown to also be able to spread by scratches and by entering the body through an orifice, as seen when Choi Nam-ra was infected by a drop of blood landing in her eye.
- The virus is after German medical philosopher Hans Jonas.
- The virus is mostly inspired by the Rage Virus from the 28 days later series since both of them stimulating intense rage upon the infected.
- In the webtoon, Jin-su mysteriously contracts the virus after fishing with him through a worm. The worms containing the virus start the whole outbreak in Hyosan, and eventually Japan as well through the river current.
- The virus origin in the webtoon is never fully explained as it appeared from a river.
- By the end of the webtoon, a mass of worms similar to the one that infected Jin-su was revealed to be under the ocean where they infect a fish.
- In the webtoon, it's theorized by the military that the virus may not even be from earth.