October 2012 - A new mutation of H5N1 hits poultry farms in Delaware, spreading throughout the United States and Canada via contaminated birds and human-to-human contact before migrating overseas. Nearly simultaneously, a virulent strain of H1N1 originates in South American pig farms, appearing in the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia before it is detected by WHO. The elderly and the young are the first to succumb by the hundreds of thousands.
November 2012 - WHO responds to the H1N1 and H5N1 outbreaks with an aggressive immunization campaign. The vaccine has unintended consequences. Some 23% of its recipients experience complete immune system failure, leading to high fever followed by brain swelling reminiscent of encephalitis. Nearly all cases result in fatality. Perhaps 5% of these terminal patients experience disorientation and rage similar to that observed in animals afflicted by rabies, attacking family members and care-givers with unreasoning fury before succumbing to brain death. The media dubs this strange reaction the "Rage Virus" in honor of the films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.
December 2012 - As the worldwide spread of H1N1 and H5N1 continues unabated despite mass slaughter of pigs and domestic fowl in affected areas, WHO first denies and then admits human-to-human spread of the Rage Virus via saliva, sweat, and blood.
December 21, 2012 - The Dead Rise.