http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/zombies.asp
Claim: The BBC reported an outbreak of "zombism" in a Cambodian town.
Status: False.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2005]
There has been a small outbreak of "zombism" in a small town near the border of Laos in North-Eastern Cambodia.
The culprit was discovered to be mosquitoes native to that region carrying a new strain of Malaria which thus far has a 100 percent mortality rate and kills victims in fewer than 2 days.
After death, this parasite is able to restart the heart of its victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believed to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during "resurrection."
Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry.
[Rest of article here.]
Origins: Despite its April 1 date, and its non-appearance on a real news site, a spoof article about an outbreak of "zombism" spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes in Cambodia so successfully imitated the style of the BBC's web site that it continues to be circulated by readers wondering about its authenticity. (The page's HTML code reveals that it was created by modifying a real BBC article about Syrian troops withdrawing from Lebanon, which is why most of the ancillary links in the spoof page's sidebar refer to Syria and Lebanon even though the 'Zombies' article mentions neither of those countries.)
The article is just an April Fools' joke, and the picture of the "canine sacrificed by locals to ward off evil spirits" is a cropped version of an art exhibit photograph created years before the 1 April 2005 date of the putative "zombie" news story.
Last updated: 19 May 2005