With HBO airing the latest season of “The Last of Us” this week, the common question that old and new viewers ask is: Could this really happen?
The series begins with Professor of Medical Mycology identifying the fungal species Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, an ant-infecting fungus that manipulates the behavior of its prey. At one point, the fungi could only infect insects, but as the earth heated up, they evolved to infect humans.
With the violent depictions of zombified humans and a widespread fungal pandemic, it’s scary to think about how we’d be in the same situation. However, according to experts in fungal lung infections, such as Professor Elaine Bignell at the University of Exeter’s MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, a widespread fungal pandemic is possible, but not like the show depicts.
In the modern-day, Fungi, which currently pose threats to human life, do not cause disease on such a large scale as in “The Last of Us.” Most human-infecting fungi are not able to overcome a healthy human immune system. The exceptions to this rule are fungi species endemic to specific geographical regions of the Americas whose species are growing due to climate change, Professor Bignell explained in her research.
A misconception in the show is that fungal infections can travel from person to person through a bite. Most fungal infections are acquired from the natural environment via inhalation of spores. Fungi can, however, change human behavior. Just look at Psilocybin mushrooms (magic mushrooms), for example, which can manipulate their hosts and affect their mood, body temperature, and sexual desire.
Another fungus that can cause human behavior changes is Claviceps purpurea, an ergot fungus that may have been associated with the “Dancing Plagues.” The dancing plagues were psychic epidemics dating back to the Late Middle Ages and potentially linked to the consumption of infected rye.
Some fungal pandemics and outbreaks are already taking place. Candida auris is affecting humans, often multi-drug-resistant, and has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings. It can cause serious illness, including bloodstream infections, in hospitalized patients. Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis is affecting amphibians, not humans, and has moved across the globe and devastated amphibian populations.
So yes, fungal pandemics and outbreaks can happen to the human species and threaten lives, but not as widespread and dramatic as “The Last of Us” portrays.
