Infected



The Infected (known as "fast zombies" in some circles) aren't zombies in the truest sense, and many (but not all) fans of Zombie fiction feel that the distinction is very important. Infected are people, technically still alive, who's bodies are raveged with some sort of biological pathogen that irrevocably (and fatally) ravages the hosts bodies and minds. The immediate change is a total reversion to an aggressive, feral personality type. An infected will attack any human (regardless of past emotional connection) with rabid ferocity, and all the strength - and mobility - they can muster. The infected demeanor is notably hostile, hateful, and enraged (hence the name Rage.). Both the biological infection, and it's primal hosts spread quicker than their literary cousins, the Zombies. However Infected have been universally portrayed as more fragile, with a average life span of only months (as the body begins to dehydrate, muscles and other organs begin to fail), and can be killed by wounds to the torso, or bleeding out through extremities, whereas Zombies almost universally require their brain to be destroyed before final death, and can persist intact for years without food, water, or even oxygen.

Abilities
The Infected still have the same level of mobility as they did before becoming infected. Both films have also demonstrated that they do possess a rudimentary sense of spatial awareness. In 28 Weeks Later, the character Don Harris is shown to be able to manipulate such simplistic objects as blunt-force weapons. The Infected can be killed by conventional means though killing an infected human may be made more difficult by their adrenaline enhanced strength, endurance, and disregard for pain along with their own well being.

Characteristics
Rage does not directly cause the death of its host, but because the host is solely focused on infecting or killing the non-Infected, it causes those infected to become disinterested in self-nourishment which will eventually cause death by starvation. Since the virus causes those infected to act with no regard for self-preservation, they will not act to evade mortal danger, such as fire or chemical gas. The Infected experience spasms in the extremities, and their irises become blood red. They also vomit copious amounts of infectious blood. It has also been shown that the Infected use their sense of smell to find the uninfected and that trace amounts of products such as perfume or soap will attract them to the source.

The Infected are distinct from cinematic zombies; they are not the revived dead. Also, films such as the Night of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead, and Resident Evil series portray zombies as creatures that desire to consume living flesh. By contrast, while the Infected will attempt to bite their victims, it is usually as a means of either killing them (often by severing the main arteries in their neck) or spreading the virus. They are not shown to ingest any organic material, apparently due to said disregard for nourishment. Another key difference is that the Rage-infected victims are still living human beings and as such can be killed using conventional weapons that inflict fatal injuries.