PLANT fungus has infected a human for the first time, medics reveal.
In scenes similar to HBO’s The Last Of Us, a 61-year-old man in India was struck down by the same fungal infection that causes silver leaf disease, which kills trees.
A man has been infected by a plant fungus for the first time on record. Pictured: An up-close shot of the fungus chondrostereum purpureum
A sample sample had to be sequenced at a World Health Organization lab for the strain of fungus to be identified
While we may be someway off seeing a real-life cordyceps, which takes over the brains of “infected” in the show, researchers warned the case raises concerns about new illnesses.
Dr Soma Dutta, of Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals, said: “That animal and human diseases can be caused by plant pathogens is a new concept that raises serious questions.
“The pathogen enters the human body through damaged skin and the respiratory tract and can cause infection mostly in immunocompromised individuals.
“Cross-kingdom human pathogens, and their potential plant reservoirs, have important implications for the emergence of infectious diseases.”
The patient, who was not named but worked with decaying mushrooms for his job as a plant mycologist, started coughing and had difficulty swallowing and eating for three months.
He turned up at the hospital in Kolkata with a hoarse voice and sore throat and doctors found a small hole in the lymph nodes by his windpipe.
But they were left bemused when initial tests for a bacterial infection showed nothing.
Further tests on pus from his throat revealed it was fungal, and the sample had to be sequenced at a World Health Organization lab for the strain of fungus to be identified.
Medics drained the pus completely and gave him a course of antifungal medication for two months that cured the infection.
He has remained free of the fungus for the last two years.
His case, reported in Medical Mycology Case Reports, is the first recorded instance of a human being infected by a plant fungus.
Silver leaf disease is an infection in trees that is caused by chondrostereum purpureum, the same fungus that infected the patient.
It spreads through airborne spores and turns plants’ leaves metallic-looking before killing them.
The WHO last year warned deadly fungal infections are on the rise, posing a threat to humanity.
Many fungal pathogens, including candida which causes common infections like vaginal thrush, are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment.
Despite this, fungal infections receive very little attention and research resources.
As it stands, there are only four classes of antifungal medicines available and very few in development.