Solanum

Now we will take a moment to look at another fictional virus that has got itself a lot of attention around the world. So much so the nae "solanum" has almost been scientifically accepted as the name of any potential zombie virus. Not to be confused with the solanum species of plant.

Solanum is carried, by the blood, from the initial point of contact to the brain. The virus uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process. Indoing so the virus stops the functioning of the body, including the heart, causing death. The brain, however, remains alive but dormant. The virus then mutates the remaining intact brain cells. These mutated cells no longer require oxygen to function. By removing the need for oxygen, the infected brain and can make use of the body without needing the other organs.

The solanum virus is neither waterborne nor airborne. Infection can occur only through direct contact with bodily fluids. A zombie bite, although by far the most recognizable means of transference, is not the only one. Humans can be infected simply by being in contact with undead tissue. Ingestion of infected flesh (provided the person has no open mouth sores) does not cause infection, but does cause permanent death. Infected flesh is highly toxic.
Solanum is fatal to all living creatures, however, reanimation only takes place only in humans. An infected non-human brain will die within hours of the death of its host. Infected animals expire before the virus can replicate throughout their bodies. Infection from insect bites such as from mosquitoes can also be discounted. Parasitic insects can sense an infected host and will reject it.
Once a human is infected, there is no cure. Because Solanum is a virus and not a bacteria, antibiotics have no effect. Immunization is equally pointless, as even the smallest dose will lead to a full-blown infection. Severing the infected limb can work but is very unlikely to catch the virus in time.
The toxicity level of undead flesh, combined with the 100% fatality rate for infected lifeforms significantly slows down the process of decomposition. This is due to the fact that bacteria play a crucial role in decomposition and were they to partake of infected flesh, they would die. Therefore bacteria afoid undead flesh. This also removes most of the smell normally associated with rotting corpses as that smell is due mostly to decomp caused by the bacteria.
Solanum does not infect the already dead. Zombies ignore necrotic flesh and therefore could not transfer the virus. Injection directly into a dead brain would be equally useless, as the expired cells could not respond to the virus. Solanum does not re-create life, it alters it.

As you can see the science behind solanum is sketchy at best and much of it is based off "research" done by auther of the Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks. More on solanum can be found here. The solanum virus appears to be simply an attempt at explaining away all other possiblities so zombies can only exist in one way. This thinking is foolish as there is no evidence to back up this sort of claim. Also it gives no explaination for the isolated events that occur throughout the world and at different time frames. All in all the solanum virus is unfortunately what the true cause of zombies, once discovered, will probably be named but at the very least only provides a rough outline to what the actual cause is. It is not the cause as laid out in Zombie Survival Guide.

Stay vigilant, may the infection never reach you, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so unfortunate, Mike D.