In the HBO series The Last of Us, humanity is threatened with extinction due to a fungus that infects billions of people. Although we are not really threatened by such a scenario, experts point out that we should not ignore the dangers that mushrooms pose around the world.

This kind of threat is described in the premise of the aforementioned series, which begins with an ominous speech by an epidemiologist in 1960 about the danger posed by mushrooms.

“If the planet gets even a little warmer, then they have a reason to evolve. [οι μύκητες]”, the epidemiologist presciently warns in the first scene of the series, referring to the possibility of these microorganisms infecting the human mind and taking it over.

“Candida, Erysipelas, Cordyceps and Aspergillus: any of these [τους μύκητες] he could get into our brains and control not millions, but billions of us.”

Inspired by this idea, the story of the series continues 40 years later, when a massive outbreak of cordyceps leads to a devastating pandemic that turns people into bloodthirsty monsters.

The events of the series are, of course, the product of fiction, but is there a scientific basis for them?

Are mushrooms really a threat to us?

“Fungi are already living in the human brain all over the planet,” says Professor Elaine Bignell, a leading researcher in the field of human pathogenic fungi.

“Some types of fungi are considered quite dangerous pathogens and annually kill hundreds of thousands of people – just [περισσότερος] people don’t know about it,” Bignell explains.

Viewers of The Last of Us may have noticed that some of the pathogens the show’s epidemiologist talks about are also on the World Health Organization’s actual list of fungi that threaten public health.

Among those considered the most dangerous was Aspergillus fumigatus, which is quite common in homes and outdoors and can cause “chronic and acute lung disease” and is potentially fatal.

In addition, Candida species that cause common infections such as thrush and lichen are also a major cause of blood infections in patients in intensive care units.

At the same time, the WHO list also includes Cryptococosis neoformans, which affects the lungs and brain, causing pneumonia and meningitis in immunocompromised patients. The fungus in question kills more than 1,000 people a year in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The common element among deadly fungi is that they can grow at human body temperature, which is unusual for a fungus,” Bignell told Sky News.

“Most fungi in the environment tend to grow in milder weather conditions, and this makes it difficult for any microorganism to resist the human body’s immune response and withstand high temperatures,” she notes.

What about cordyceps?

Cordyceps may not be on the WHO list, but it is quite real.

This parasitic fungus infects and takes over the brains of insects, as it does to humans in The Last of Us.

“There are about 600 species,” says the doctor. Mark Ramsdale, Professor of Molecular Biology. “These are pathogens that mainly affect insects. They control the insect host and change its behavior. So in that sense, there’s some foundation to what’s going on in the show,” he says.

As far as humans are concerned, cordyceps is used in healing and therapeutic products, mainly in Chinese herbal medicine.

“There is a long history of relationships between humans and this particular species,” the doctor says. Ramsdale.

“There is no evidence that it causes disease in humans. However, as far as its relationship with insects is concerned, it is true that it dominates its hosts, and several fungi have developed this ability over time,” he adds.

The role of climate change

Another important element of The Last of Us is that the epidemiologist’s speech at the beginning of the series talks about the impact of climate change on the nature of fungi and our relationship with them.

Bignell says the effects of global warming will “profoundly” affect every microorganism on the planet.

There are about 150,000 recorded mushroom species in the world, but it is estimated that there are millions of them. However, few can survive at human body temperature and penetrate the defenses of the immune system.

But some have this ability, and it is possible that there are others – either those that have not yet been identified, or those that are adapting to survive on a planet that is getting warmer.

“Perhaps some of them make the transition from one mode of behavior to another and become dangerous in a context that we did not expect,” explains the doctor. Ramsdale.

So, the pandemic on The Last of Us may be far from reality, but it’s not completely scientifically unfounded.

“What’s even further from what’s happening today is the scale and pace of the contagion in The Last of Us,” says Bignell.

“Some fungi can be transmitted from one person to another – and in our environment we constantly encounter them – but this will require very significant variation. [αυτών των παθογόνων] launch the destruction scenario dramatized in the series,” emphasizes the professor.

Is there any reason for concern?

We can be sure that there will be no fungus in our porridge, which will turn us into zombies tomorrow morning.

However, the case of Covid, according to scientists, is proof that we should not stop there when it comes to potential public health threats, given how suddenly they can appear in our lives.

And soon the world saw parallels with what the epidemiologist mentions in the first scene of The Last of Us.

Given that fungal infections are a relatively recent phenomenon, there were few examples prior to the 1980s, and given the lack of fungal vaccine research programs, it is clear that a major effort needs to be made.

“We have to be on alert,” Bignell says.

In the meantime, if you happen to see someone who appears to be covered in mushrooms attacking a family member to devour them – better stay away.

^{Source: Sky News}