In a scene more disturbing than the scariest horror movie, a tendril shoots out of the victim’s head. The fungus litters its surroundings with spores, condemning others to a zombie fate. It sounds like a work of fiction. But the kingdom of fungi, molds and yeasts – distinct from plants and animals – includes everything from edible types to parasites that seem to have stepped out of a nightmare.
Parasitic fungi from the caterpillar and caterpillar genera (cordyceps and ophiocordyceps) do exist. The British naturalist David Attenborough observes how one of these fungi controls ants in one of the episodes of the series Marvel Planet.
Footage of zombie insects inspired the creators of the video game The Last of Us and now a successful TV series based on the same plot.
In both the video game and the series, the parasitic caterpillar attacks humans instead of its usual insect victims. The ensuing pandemic leads to global collapse. But in the real world, is a caterpillar or other fungus likely to cause a disaster of this magnitude?
“I think we underestimate fungal diseases at our own risk,” says Neil Stone, a doctor and specialist in this type of disease at the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases. According to him, the world is completely unprepared to face such a pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published its first list of life-threatening fungi and molds last October. Lovers of The Last of Us can breathe easy – there is no caterpillar on it.
Microbiologist Charissa de Bekker from the University of Utrecht is researching how caterpillars turn ants into zombies, and says she can’t imagine the same thing happening to humans. “Our body temperature is simply too high for most fungi to comfortably colonize and grow — and that’s true for caterpillars as well,” she said.
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“The nervous system (of insects) is simpler than ours, so it is certainly easier to take over their brain than ours. Their immune system is also different,” says de Bekker. Most caterpillar species have evolved over millions of years to specialize in infecting a single species.
“It would be a really big change if this fungus could jump from insects to us and cause an infection,” says de Bekker.
Of the millions of mold and fungus species, only a handful cause various diseases. But some of them can be much worse than common mycosis of the feet or toenails. Fungi and fungi kill about 1.7 million people a year – that’s about three times more than malaria.
The WHO has identified 19 types of molds and fungi that it says pose a serious risk. Among them is Candida auris, a yeast that, when it enters the body, can attack the blood, nervous system and internal organs. The WHO estimates that up to half of people will die after the infection.
Candida auris is resistant to antifungals and some infections resist all available drugs. It is mainly transmitted through contaminated surfaces in hospitals, where it clings to IV tubing or blood pressure cuffs. It is difficult to get rid of it, sometimes entire hospital departments have to be closed – as was already necessary in Britain.
Another deadly fungus – Cryptococcus mutans – can enter the nervous system and cause devastating meningitis. The disease mucormycosis, which is responsible for the popular black mold, eats away at our tissue so quickly that it forms large gaping wounds on the face.
Source: eurozpravy.cz
