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== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[High SchoolHighschool of the Dead (Manga)|High School of the Dead]]'' has several of these. None so far have tried to hide it, and most of them get put down by the heroes or die by their own hand after expressing a firm desire to die rather than become one of '[[Not Using the Z Word|them]]'. The first arc of the outbreak in particular features two infectees (Hisashi and the boy in Shizuka-sensei's office) who are [[Mercy Kill]]'d. It's probably happened a few times off camera, though, since we see that "they" have {{spoiler|somehow gotten aboard Air Force One}}.
 
 
== Comic Books ==
* Happens unknowingly in [[Garth Ennis]]'... ''strange'' book ''[[Crossed (Comic Book)|Crossed]].'' One member of the party is shot (the eponymous Crossed are intelligent, just psychotic), and seems to just be in shock. However, there's quite a [[Oh Crap]] moment when a scouting party witnesses a group of Crossed {{spoiler|soaking bullets in their semen}}. Cue rampage.
* Mostly averted in ''[[The Walking Dead (Comic Bookcomics)|The Walking Dead]]''. Most survivors are sufficiently paranoid and genre savvy to be on guard, and most infectees either decide to be left behind or take the "third option" described above. On the negative side, it has also been shown that the recently dead can and probably will rise as zombies even if they were not directly infected by another zombie. An interesting variation on the trope has occurred several times, when certain survivors remained in deep denial and refused to distance themselves from their fully infected loved ones.
* The [[Graphic Novel]] ''Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection'' puts a spin on this trope. The novel is presented as [[Apocalyptic Log|the journal]] of a doctor who survives the early waves of mass infection. Over time he comes to suspect that a food additive put into the products of an enormous [[Mega Corp]] that supplies much of the world's processed food is the cause of the infection, and once the body absorbs a certain amount of said additive, the person begins going through stages of infection that lead into becoming a zombie. It's never shown one way or the other whether he's right, but if he is, [[Fridge Horror|everyone still alive is already infected, and every meal they scavenge puts them one step closer to turning...]]
 
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== Fan Fic ==
* The weird but excellent [[Zombie Apocalypse]]/House fic "The Rampant Disease" features an infectee House refusing to let his love interest kiss him because they know [[The Virus]] is spread through bodily fluids. (That the story also contains two of the more egregious instances of [[Die for Our Ship]] ever seen detracts slightly, but it's still a great story.)
* There's a [[Fullmetal Alchemist (Mangamanga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]] fanfic called "Mistakes" where Mustang becomes an infectee after getting bitten on the wrist and refuses to admit what bit him. Despite admitting the truth eventually, Mustang ''averts'' the trope by being cured when his totally infected arm gets torn off by the Gate.
* Happens to several characters during the [[DC Nation]] version of ''Blackest Night,'' most notably to Troia and Oliver Queen.
 
== Film ==
* The ''[[Resident Evil (Filmfilm)|Resident Evil]]'' movies have examples of good and bad Infectees. Notably, a recurring minor character from [[Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Film)|the second movie]], [[Ethnic Scrappy]] L.J, is bitten in [[Resident Evil: Extinction (Film)|the third]]. What's infuriating about this example is that the movie is set well after the zombie plague has swept through the world, so he couldn't exactly plead ignorance; L.J. had likely seen the same thing happen dozens of times. And yet he keeps his infection a secret, even as he begins to sicken. Once he turns (which [[Rule of Drama|inconveniently]] happens during the big zombie attack), he almost kills [[The Chick]] while both are locked in a car, and then infects one of the likable main characters, who does the right thing and takes as many zombies with him as possible in a massive explosion.
* Played with in the character of Shaun's mother in ''[[Shaun of the Dead (Film)|Shaun of the Dead]]''. She waits until just before she dies to reveal she's been bitten, but not necessarily to save her life; rather, she wanted to keep the burden off Shaun for as long as possible, explaining: [[Stiff Upper Lip|"I didn't want to be a bother." ]]
** Whereas Shaun's friend Ed, after being bitten, does a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] by staying to hold the zombies off while the others escape.
* The "Sex Machine" (played by SFX guru Tom Savini) in ''[[From Dusk Till Dawn (Film)|From Dusk Tilltill Dawn]]'' hid his rapid [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampirization]] for fear of being killed. Fortunately he was killed without much problem. Unfortunately he let all the ''other'' vampires in.
** On the flipside, [[Badass Preacher|badass ex-preacher]] Jacob is open and frank about the fact that he's been bitten and doesn't have long, and was pretty emphatic in getting his kids to do him in when the same was happening to him.
*** Not that they do before he infects his son.
**** But he was a [[Sorting Algorithm of Deadness|pudgy, adopted asian kid]] with little characterization, as opposed to Jacob's pretty biological daughter with the hots for George Clooney's character, so we don't care.
* In the 2004 remake of ''[[Dawn of the Dead 2004 (Film)|Dawn of the Dead 2004]]'', pregnant Luda gets bitten. Once her husband Andre discovers the bites turn the victim into a zombie, he sets his wife up in the maternity store, separate from the other survivors. Andre sinks so deeply in denial that he refuses to accept the truth, even when it's obvious [[The Virus]] has her; instead he becomes her twisted [[The Caretaker|caretaker.]] Ironically, Luda doesn't kill anyone, because Andre restrained her when she went into labor (during which she died and reanimated). When Norma discovers zombie Luda, she shoots the undead new mother. Norma and Andre then exchange more gunfire, killing each other. Ana then arrives and shoots Luda's [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|newborn zombie]] [[Infant Immortality|infant]].
** Additionally, Frank, once informed that the bites are going to turn him into a zombie, elects to be separated from the others, knowing he will be killed when he reanimates.
** Subverted when Michael gets bitten and stays behind, knowing he can't accompany the rest of the survivors beyond this point. It's not quite a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], but he at least displays consideration for the other survivors' safety. It is instead Ana, the woman Michael loves, who goes into denial, insisting she can help him because she's a nurse, even though she knows full well the consequences and wasn't able to do anything for any of the other infectees in their recent acquaintance.
** In the original version, Roger is bitten and knows full well what is coming. He asks Peter to let him succumb, and then wait and see what happens as he is going to "try not to come back". It fails, and his is killed upon rising.
* In ''[[Land of the Dead (Film)|Land of the Dead]]'' not a single infected person hides their status; if they are bitten they commit suicide or die fighting. However, the prize goes to Chollo, who is just about to abandon the city when he unexpectedly gets bitten. He's been on a zombie-killing team for years, so he knows what's coming. His right hand man asks if he wants to be shot or shoot himself. Chollo [[Take a Third Option|chooses neither]], but instead goes back to Fiddler's Green, intending to take his flesh-eating revenge on his [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] [[Bad Boss]] Kaufman.
* Averted in ''[[Thirty30 Days of Night (Film)|Thirty Days of Night]]'', when a widower not so slowly turning into a vampire asks to be killed not only to avoid becoming a murderer, but because he can't stand the thought of being immortal and never dying to see his family in heaven.
** Further averted by sheriff Eben Ouleman willingly infecting himself, and then using [[Heroic Willpower]] to fight and kill the vampire leader. Sadly he [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrificed himself]] by waiting for the sun rather than risk losing his self control and becoming a monster.
** Played straight however when a man hiding under a house slowly turns into a vampire before finding Eben and trying to kill him.
* Several people in the ''[[Return of the Living Dead]]'' series keep their wits about them once infected. They even find ways to stave off the desire to eat flesh well into the transformation phase, so as to not be a danger to friends and loved ones. This, unfortunately, makes them rather attractive to the government.
* Averted in ''[[Grindhouse]]: Planet Terror''. Cherry is attacked by zombies who bite her leg off. After getting medical attention, she proves to be immune to the neurotoxic agent causing the zombies, as are most of the other leads. Others, not so lucky, are infected not through bites or scratches, but through the infected smearing bodily fluids on them. [[Squick|Ew.]]
* Mostly avoided in ''[[Diary of the Dead (Film)|Diary of the Dead]]''. Everybody who gets infected has the wisdom to blow their brains out before they can rise. There were only two straight examples in the entire movie where characters rose after death.
** The very beginning. Gordo gets bitten, and dies. His girlfriend is of course in shock, and claims he might not rise. The group doesn't believe her, but this is the beginning, so they aren't sure, and they leave her to grieve. He does eventually rise, but she reluctantly shoots him in the head instantly, before he cause any trouble.
** [[Jerkass]] Ridley, who was in the horror movie at the beginning of the [[Zombie Apocalypse]] they're blog-documenting, is seen early on partying with his girl. He invites the film crew to come join him because they're perfectly safe where he is. By the time Jason and company get to him, he's all alone and acting erratic, even for him. Only when Deborah convinces him to tell her where everybody else is does it become obvious that he's infected.
** A third example comes from one of the video asides. A team of armed soldiers raid a house where a live family is storing their infected relatives. Over the family's protests, the soldiers open the room where they've been storing the zombies and shoot them, but the father's interference causes the sergeant to be bitten. Incensed, he deliberately shoots the living family members in the hearts so that they will "wake up dead."
* While not a zombie plague, in ''[[Blade]] 2'' one of the vampire strike team, Lighthammer, gets bit by one of the "super-vampires" and covers it up (suprisingly well considering he's one of the most underdressed members of the team), until he predictably turns and starts gobbling up the rest of his team.
* Although not technically zombies, the 'Rage' victims in the ''[[Twenty Eight Days Later|28 Days Later]]'' movies deliberately avert this trope; the virus infects and converts its victims within 30 seconds to a minute, thus preventing them from concealing their condition from those around them. It also ups the tension, as the non-infected have to deal with the victim immediately in order to save their own lives.
** The first movie also offers a potential inversion; after butchering a number of infected, one of the characters discovers that he's somehow received a cut. As there's so much blood -- both his and theirs -- it's unclear as to whether he's actually been infected. This doesn't stop one of the other characters from instantly butchering him with a machete.
* In another vampiric variation, Montoya in ''John Carpenter's Vampires'' also hides his own vampire bite. His subterfuge does not really matter, as he gets bitten again later in a less discreet place.
* ''Quarantine'' involves a news crew and a group of firefighters locked into an apartment complex with a bunch of other people and a zombie infection. They store the infectees in the same room that most of the living people are congregated. Guess what happens?
* Averted, then subverted in ''[[Zombieland (Film)|Zombieland]]''. Little Rock appears all too willing to take the bullet to avoid being a danger to other survivors {{spoiler|but it was just a con to let her and Wichita steal the guys' car and guns}}.
** Played straight, however, with 406, but to be fair nobody knew about zombies or [[The Virus]]. She just thought some crazy homeless guy attacked her. Plus she only says he ''tried'' to bite her, not that he actually had.
* As the title might suggest, this is the entire point of the movie ''Carriers''. While you don't turn into a zombie, the plague's extreme contagiousness makes you just as much of a threat. After being infected, Bobby plays this trope painfully straight, until being abandoned with a little water and directions by her boyfriend. When he in turn is infected, he initially forces his companions to carry him, and then makes his brother shoot him when they try to escape, rather than leaving him to die a slow death.
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* In Rebecca Brock's short story ''The Beautiful People'' found in the collection ''Abominations,'' a Paris Hilton-type celebutante discovers the hard way that one of her [[BF Fs]], a certain strung-out redheaded actress, has been bitten and infected.
* {{spoiler|Beth}} in ''[[The Forest of Hands and Teeth]]'' suffers from a small wound at the hands of one of the Unforsaken. {{spoiler|Her husband, Jed,}} knows about it and has troubles accepting the tragedy. He keeps it a secret from everyone but Mary, who promises to keep silent for the time. {{spoiler|Beth's eventual death is a mercy kill}}.
* There are many in [[Can YouYOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?]]. They can't pretend for long, though, since the time between being infected and reanimating is fairly short.
* In ''Dead of Night'' by Jonathan Maberry, all the main characters have made it to the school which is under siege by zombies. To add insult to injury, the United States government forced them into a terrible deal to save the few uninfected survivors. The trio of heroes takes all the zombie infectees out to be terminated by the National Guard since it's the only way the government will refrain from [[Kill It Withwith Fire|fuel-air bombing the school and the surrounding town]]. And only then does one of the heroes reveal he got bitten in the battle to secure the school.
 
== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[She Wolf of London (TV series)|She Wolf of London]]'' has Ian bravely fighting against the encroaching Zombie tendencies. But the longer he goes, the more he's able to do little more than groan, "Hunnnngrrryyy...." piteously. Fortunately, this case of zombiism was a curse that could be reversed.
* The ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode "The Waters of Mars" averts this when one character touches [[The Virus|the eponymous water]] and instantly tells the others to go on without him.
** Amy plays this trope straight in "The Time of Angels". She doesn't really know ''what's'' happened to her until the Doctor figures it out, though the {{spoiler|grit in her eye}} was a pretty big indicator ''something'' was wrong. She just had no way of knowing how bad it was until the Doctor worked it out himself.
* ''[[Special Unit 2 (TV)|Special Unit 2]]'' has the main character Nick get infected by a werewolf bite. Needing to find the werewolves, he decides to let himself turn, but tells his partner to kill him if he looks like he's lost himself. At the end, he seems to lose control, but by this point they'd developed a cure bullet and shot him with it.
* ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]'' hilariously evokes the trope by having ''two'' people, one after the other, reveal themselves as being infectees, and protesting in slurred, growling speech (a symptom that announces the transformation is underway) that they thought they were "special" and could resist the bite through [[Heroic Willpower]].
* Both [[Being Human|the British]] and [[Being Human Remake|the American]] versions of ''Being Human'' had the main werewolf character scratch and infect his girlfriend, who concealed it until after her first transformation because she wasn't convinced it would really happen. In the British version, Nina at least had the sense to lock herself up just in case, while in the American version, Nora destroyed her car and transformed just a stone's throw from her boyfriend {{spoiler|and the vampire trying to kill him, so it all worked out surprisingly well}}.
* Subverted in ''[[Dead Set]]''. Angel is bitten but because none of the housemates are clear on how the virus works, they attempt to treat her. It doesn't work. Later, Alex is bitten and quietly hands her axe over to Riq to dispatch her quickly.
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* The opening fiction to zombie RPG ''[[All Flesh Must Be Eaten]]'' records the [[Apocalyptic Log|personal log]] of a scientist who's been bitten by a zombie. Needless to say, it goes in the typical direction, ending with the doctor talking about how h-h-''hungry'' he is...
** One chapter-opening story is centered around a group of infectees, quarantined by the United States government (by the rules of the scenario it's based on, infectees rise when they die of anything after the infection hits). The narrator finds her husband has committed suicide, but refuses to report it to the guards - they were growing apart, and as she puts it, "Before I die, he's going to touch me. One last time."
* ''[[Zombie Fluxx (Tabletop Game)|Zombie Fluxx]]'' has a card whose flavor text says something to the effect of "Dude, kill me if I turn into one of those things", and essentially indicates that any cards you have representing human friends have now become [[Zombie Infectee|Zombie Infectees]] (or outright Zombies) you have to kill when the opportunity arises.
* Like in the ''Anubis'' example above, the Neo-Victorian zombie RPG ''[[Unhallowed Metropolis]]'' features different funerary rites for a world where the dead can easily rise as zombies. The lower classes get an immediate cremation, the middle classes usually have valued steel or bronze stakes that can be used to destroy the brain, and the upper classes can hire professional "Mourners" who are trained to watch a body for three days straight and decapitate it at the first sign that it's getting back up.
 
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** Change "Zombie" for "Werewolf" and the [[Our Werewolves Are Different|worgen]] player character qualifies. He gets bitten early in the starting zone, but doesn't tell anyone until it's too late and turns into a worgen at the [[Last Stand|worst possible moment]].
{{quote| '''[http://www.wowhead.com/spell{{=}}72870 Worgen bite]''': You were bitten by a worgen. The wound looks minor... maybe it'll go away with time?}}
* One of the campaigns in ''[[Left 4 Dead (Video Game)|Left 4 Dead]]'' features a saferoom inside a church. There is an occupant locked inside; having been attacked the last time he let someone else in, he refuses to unlock the doors until you prove that you're not infected -- and attracts a massive horde of the Infected by setting off the church bell. If you remain close to the door, you hear him beginning to panic as he realizes that he himself is an infectee; at the end of the sequence he leaps out of the saferoom, fully turned, and attacks.
** Don't forget the two helicopter pilots! They got bit while making rounds trying to save people, eventually forcing someone in the party to shoot the pilot.
** Inverted in the Sacrifice DLC comic. Zoey's father is bitten in the initial stages of the zombie apocalypse, and she puts him down to prevent this from happening. 2 weeks later, she finds out that the gene for immunity is passed down from the father. Ouch.
* ''[[Resident Evil]]'' - There are actually very few examples of this trope in the RE games, the most common being in [[Resident Evil Outbreak]]; an online iteration where dying players resurrect as zombies. ''[[Resident Evil 1]]'' does, however, have a readable journal by one of the Umbrella scientists that degrades slowly as the infection spreads, culminating in an extremely short entry about eating dog food, and how it is good.
** [[Resident Evil 4]] does this, although Leon manages to survive long enough to find a cure for himself and Ashley. Their case is also a bit different because they were injected with parasite eggs, not a zombie virus.
** Marvin Branagh stretched his death by zombie attack over ''three games.'' Chronologically, he is bitten during RE: Outbreak, File #2, he is seen unconscious but alive in ''[[Resident Evil 3 Nemesis]]'', and ultimately turns into a zombie in ''[[Resident Evil 2 (Video Game)]]''. (Capcom likes prequels.)
*** Then again, Branagh didn't exactly try to hide it, even going so far as to kick your player character out of the room and lock the door in RE 2 to make sure he wouldn't hurt you when he turned. It doesn't ''work'', but not through any fault of his.
*** It doesn't help that [[Poor Communication Kills|he doesn't tell you]] ''why'' he's kicking you out.
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* Happens to Gwynn in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. {{spoiler|Turns out the zombies were just messing with her about the whole infection thing, though.}}
* Main characters from [[Weregeek]] played with this trope when they created [[Zombie Apocalypse]] [[Self-Insert Fic]] ''These Gooddamned Zombies''. First it was subverted when Joel was bitten, took a gun and enter room full of zombies to fight with them, because he don't want to endanger his friends, and then we saw {{spoiler|Sarah}} hiding the bitemarks. {{spoiler|This was also subverted, because it was revealed she was zombie from the beginning and lure the rest into a trap}}.
* By turns [[Averted Trope|averted]], [[Defied Trope|defied]], [[Discussed Trope|discussed]] and [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructed]] in ''[[The Zombie Hunters]].'' [[The Virus]] is contracted through exposure to ''any'' [[The Undead|zombie]] bodily fluids through an orifice or wound, but only being bitten or [[Poison Is Corrosive|vomited on]] causes [[Viral Transformation|imminent zombification]]. Those otherwise exposed are [[Zombie Infectee|infected]] with a dormant form of [[The Virus]]. These "Infected" can live full, asymptomatic lives, but they remain [[Typhoid Mary|contagious]], able to spread the disease to others through their own bodily fluids, and doomed to [[Came Back Wrong|reanimate]] after death. On the [[Island Base|Island]] [[Police State|Military Base]] [[Endangered Species|humanity's remnants]] inhabit, Infected are both [[Fantastic Ghetto|segregated]] from and forbidden from [[No Sex Allowed|romancing]] the uninfected. Infected are also [[Dystopian Edict|required to]] wear [[Fantastic Racism|identifying armbands]] and ID tags, [[Big Brother Is Watching|pass through checkpoints]], and [[Fascists' Bed Time|obey curfews]] while among uninfected, and the unskilled are [[Fantastic Caste System|exploited]] as [[We Have Reserves|highly-expendable]] [[Disaster Scavengers]].(The eponymous [[Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom|Zombie Hunters]]) All residents are tested regularly, and anyone who goes off-island has to pass through quarantine and [[Decontamination Chamber|decontamination]]. The only character who can survive being bitten [[Half-Human Hybrid|is already a zombie]].
 
 
== Web Original ==
* The ''Those Aren't Muskets'' skit "Dealing with the guy who's clearly hiding a zombie bite" starts as [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]]. It turns out that all but one of them are all concealing the same secret. Though they do still have the obnoxious one who's hiding the fact that he was also bitten by a vampire ''and'' a werewolf (and possibly a mummy?).
* Quite a bunch of characters in ''[[Ruby Quest (Roleplay)|Ruby Quest]]'' have some traits of this, but Filbert fits the trope the most, with his [[Madness Mantra]] of being "clean".
* Parodied in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t80jEMoEPn8 this] Collegehumor video.
* [[Averted Trope|Averted]] for most people in [[Were Alive|We're Alive]] as they usually turn rapidly. There was some discussion about possible "slow turners" that would play this straight but it hasn't happened yet onscreen.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''The Secret Show'' had a zombie infection that was triggered by certain words when spoken. Oddly, the cure was also certain words when spoken. So people could prevent the infection if they were careful what they said. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, the words that triggered the zombie infection were "yes" and "no" for a good part of the episode!}}
* ''[[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!]]'' had a zombie infection caused by a Skeleton King floating eyeball. Locking gazes with the eyeball was all it took to become infected. Transformation was instantaneous, so the tension came from people desperately trying to avoid the eyeball's gaze, and running from those who had not been able to avoid looking. This eventually left Chiro the last man standing until {{spoiler|the sun came up and killed the vector, which [[No Ontological Inertia|restored everyone to normal]].}}
* [[Sixteen|6teen]]'s "Dude of the Living Dead", had this, when one of "the clones" was infected. Any other character infected was fully genre-savvy and would try to take out some zombies before they go and or make a heroic sacrifice. In one case, a completely pointless heroic sacrifice (think reaaaaly slow zombies).
* Parodied in [[South Park]] Episode "Night of the Living Homeless" in which a character sitting on top of the community center receives a phone call, that he lost his house, and subsequently asks the other people around him to help him out with a little money, some... "change?", ending up in Randy [[Shoot the Dog|putting him out of his misery]].
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