The Last Of Us' Fungal Infection Is Real And Absolutely Terrifying

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You might not be scared of zombies on tv, but you should definitely be scared of these fungi in real life.

#TheLastOfUs #Infection #HBO

Read Full Article: https://www.looper.com/1170992/the-disturbing-cordyceps-fungus-in-hbos-the-last-of-us-is-actually-real/

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46 thoughts on “The Last Of Us' Fungal Infection Is Real And Absolutely Terrifying”

  24. This isn't that terrifying when you think of size proportion, and cross species disease.
    1. There's a scientific reason why human being aren't larger than 8 feet tall. If we were bigger than that we would have to change our anatomy and physiology. Our brain, lungs, and heart can't support a bigger size when proportionally larger.
    2. The disease of one species usually can't effect other species. It's why diseases of bananas and potatoes of the past didn't jump to other fruits or vegetables. Their genome is specific to a certain host. This is the same with say the Swine Flu or Avian Flu. The diseases of different animals don't cross over to humans because they are also programed to a specific host.

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  31. It would be wise to note that Fungi are a whole kingdom onto themselves and saying they primarily infect or reproduce via spores would not be wholly accurate. There's an enormous amount of variation in fungi.Some fungi infect plants by straight up penetrating them with their tendril-like hyphae. Cordecyps itself is a genus and not a species, with so many diverse species under it. There are still new species being discovered to this day.

    Some of them also have a huge number of interconnected network that can span 500 km, almost being like a hive-mind from a sci-fi movie. This network seems to have short term memory and the tendril-like hyphae can respond and react to outward stimuli. There are so many variations that date back billions of years.

    If you're interested in the subject I highly recommend the documentary The Kingdom: How Fungi Helped Shape Our World. 🙂 That documentary also covers the fungal outbreak in Vancouver in 1999 where this species called Cryptococcus gatti began to infect humans, leading to respiratory failure in human lungs. The major ecological determinants were attributed to rising global temperature which caused the fungus to evolve. The fungus was not contagious and most people exposed to the fungus do not become ill. However, even the most healthy person could succumb to this. The medical treatment in such cases lasted several months to almost a year depending on severity.

    There's also the Candida Auris, which was discovered in Japan in 2009 and is spreading around. There are new strains which are resistant to multiple antifungal treatments. far as I remember, there's no vaccine for it and mortality rate in US ranges between 30% and 60%. The theorized reason for its spread is due to, you guessed it, increased global temperature and lowering of human body temperature. Additionally, fungal diseases have seen a rise post COVID-19, both due to weakened immune system as well as the resources diverted towards mitigating covid.

    there are other fungi like some species Cryptococcus and Aspergillus that can cause confusion, seizures, hallucinations and other forms of psychosis in humans. (although this is rare)

    Far from a zombie apocalypse, but definitely an existing threat 🙂

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  35. The facts haven't changed since the original game was released, but this sort of thing borders on the irresponsible in the present climate. The series writer himself has made a point of stating that this is not a real-world scenario we need to worry about.

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