The Last of Us | Should we be afraid of a devastating fungal pandemic like in The Last of Us?
Film and television have explored almost every way to end humanity. The Last of Us is betting on a fungal pandemica threat that, as presented in the HBO Max series, is unrealistic, according to experts consulted by EFE.
The series is based on the video game of the same name. a dystopian adventure after the Earth is devastated by a Cordyceps pandemic.a fungus that, due to global warming, adapts to infect people, turning them into killer zombies.
Could a mushroom cause a devastating pandemic like the one in The Last of Us?
Mushrooms are an everyday part of our lives, there are millions of species and only “a few dozen” are considered pathogenicso the possibility of them causing such a pandemic is “very small and requires many evolutionary changes,” according to microbiologist Oscar Zaragoza of the Mycology Reference Laboratory of the National Microbiology Center.
“This is very unlikely and almost impossible,” confirms Norman van Rijn of the Fungal Infections Group at the University of Manchester (UK), although he warns that fungal infection, which is causing cases around the world and for which we are not prepared, is “a serious problem that represents a more realistic possibility.”
Does cordyceps exist?
It is an ecological mushroom that is found primarily in tropical areas. There are several species, and the most famous of them, Ophiocordyceps uniternalis, is particularly selective for a certain type of ant, Zaragoza says.
Once inside the ant, it reaches the brain, causes seizures and behavior changeswhich becomes promiscuous in a process that “appears to be mediated by the secretion of a number of metabolites.”
Can a fungal infection control people’s minds?
“Fungal infections are not known to directly change human behavior,” says Van Rijn. Fungi can produce a large number of compounds and metabolites, some of which can alter behavior to some extent and “A good example is psilocybin, known as the magic mushroom.”.
As for Zaragoza, it is “very unlikely” that Cordyceps causes a brain infection that affects the entire population. “The jump from ant to human is very large, and it is almost impossible to do this without first adapting to the intermediate host.”
Could climate change and rising temperatures force Cordyceps to adapt to life in our bodies?
Gerardo Pisabarro, professor of microbiology at the University of Navarra, believes that this possibility “does not make sense.”
A slight increase in temperature would allow for the selection of fungal variants that could be adapted to slightly higher temperatures. “but our body is still much warmer.”
Van Rijn notes that while Cordyceps does well in much colder temperatures than the body, there are other fungi that live in warmer climates and are “more likely to adapt.” Although the evolutionary leap is “too great” for this person, for others it may be much faster.
Is it possible that the pandemic spreads through the bites of infected people?
This type of infection has not been described and the fungi are usually acquired by contact or inhalation– says Zaragoza.
Ellie, the main character, was born years after the pandemic began and is immune. How can this process happen?
Being naturally immune, as seen in the series: “it’s not real. Immunity to fungal infections is incredibly complex, and we still don’t fully understand it,” says Van Rijn.
Zaragoza agrees, pointing out that the immune response is “very complex.” “difficult” infer what might be the mechanism by which a person became immune without knowing in detail all the processes involved.
Regardless of what the show says, are mushrooms a threat, or are there vaccines or cures?
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a list of priority pathogenic fungi that can cause very serious and fatal illness, Pisabarro says.
“We are less prepared to deal with them than with bacteria”There are limited antifungal drugs and no vaccines.
Fungi especially can affect people with weak immune systems, so, he points out, “they pose a real threat, albeit on a personal level and, in very rare cases, on a local level.”
The expert adds that if he had to choose a fungus that could cause an epidemic, it would be “Candida auris” due to its resistance or “Coccidioides immitis”, which is highly contagious and resistant to high temperatures. Although, “No one will produce zombies”.