Photo: Nemanja Jovanovic/AFP

On Sunday, a New Jersey man sliced his belly open and began throwing pieces of his intestines at police. On Monday, a Miami man was shot to death by cops while eating the face of a homeless man. Then, on Tuesday, a Maryland man admitted to dismembering his roommate and eating his heart and brain.

With all these bizarre incidents occurring within a matter of days, it’s no wonder that “zombie apocalypse” has been one of Google’s most popular search terms this week. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says we have nothing to worry about.

“The CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms),” wrote agency spokesman David Daigle in an email to The Huffington Post.

Daigle dismissed the idea of a “zombie virus,” noting that a variety of agents have triggered so-called zombie apocalypses in movies.

“Films have included radiation as well as mutations of existing conditions such as prions, mad-cow disease, measles and rabies,” he said.

Still, with all the flesh-eating incidents in the news, the Internet will likely be abuzz with zombie rumors for a while. In addition to the aforementioned incidents, police in Canada are searching for a porn actor who allegedly killed a man, dismembered him and ate his flesh. And earlier this week Gawker pointed to the breakout of a “mysterious rash” in Hollywood, Fla., as proof of a zombie virus.

Although the CDC insists that zombies aren’t real, its website lists tongue-and-cheek zombie-preparedness tips, noting that “if you are generally well equipped to deal with a zombie apocalypse you will be prepared for a hurricane, pandemic, earthquake or terrorist attack.”

If you’d rather be safe than sorry, check out MNN’s 10 tips for surviving a zombie outbreak.