Quote:True, but so far everyone who has been bitten eventually died except for Herschel. I've often wondered if they died from the virus, or just from the damage from the bite. As you noted, anyone that dies turns.

 

I don't remember where I got this from, I think it was an interview from one of the writers or maybe the showrunners, but when you are bitten you die from the pathogens.  The zombie virus is in everyone and is not transmitted via biting so if you died of a heart attack you'd still turn.  If you are bitten you could live through it in theory but the pathogens in the walkers is pretty potent and you ultimately die essentially from bacterial blood poisoning.

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