A fungal infection that is spreading across the globe at horrendous speed. Fungi that take over the entire body from the brain and people in Aggressive zombies increasingly overgrown by fungal lichen transformed? The absolute horror. And the world of The Last of Us, the long-awaited series adaptation of the video game series of the same name, which starts on January 16, 2023 on Sky/WOW in Germany.
The infection is based on a real type of fungus, the so-called Cordyceps genus. Also known in German as Kernkeulen. But how does such an infection work and do we really need to worry about yeast infections controlling our bodies? We have the (scientifically based) answers – and bad news.
This is how the Cordyceps fungus infestation works – in The Last of Us and in reality
HBO
An infected at the end of the cycle of infection in The Last of Us
In The Last of Us games and the HBO series of the same name, the infection goes like this: people inhale the spores or are infected by other infected people. The fungus then settles in the brain and from there gradually spreads to the rest of the body. The infection progresses in several stages Ahead.
First, the infected retain all of their senses and look mostly human, then the growing fungus in the brain splits open their heads, robbing them of their ability to see. The fungus then grows over the entire body in a plate-like manner, turning the former humans into monster-like creatures that are quite large and strong. When the cycle of infection is completethe human body finally dissolves and grows together with its environment as a spore-separating fungal network.
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In reality, Cordyceps fungi primarily attack smaller animals such as ants, spiders or moths. Here, too, the fungus gradually spreads through the body, eventually growing out of the body and controlling how and where the respective animal moves. The goal: to spread your own spores and infect as many other creatures as possible. After a few days, the host body is dead – and the fungus forms a new fruiting body, producing airborne seeds to infect new bodies.
The horror series is right: fungal infections are becoming more dangerous
During a day of interviews for The Last of Us Season 1, showrunner Craig Mazin was asked how scientifically based the series deals with the topic of fungal infestation in humans. His answer doesn’t exactly give hope for the future:
As for fungi affecting humans, I can’t say that Cordyceps would affect humans in the way we are portraying it. What I can say is that the World Health Organization is very concerned about that right now Increase in Aspergillus infections in humans makes, which the temperature change has an influence. Fungi are starting to affect people and they are very dangerous, very difficult to treat and we actually have to take this very seriously.
When people inhale the spores of Aspergillus fungi, they can develop aspergillosis. This causes an infection in the lungs that form fungal fibers in the bodywhich can lead to difficulty breathing and coughing up blood. If the fungi spread further into the body from the lungs, organ failure can occur. This mainly affects people whose immune system is weakened by previous illnesses or by taking certain medications.
The trailer for The Last of Us shows the mushroom zombies in their terrible glory:
The Last Of Us – S01 Trailer (German Subtitles) HD
In October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a for the first time List of 19 “harmful” types of mushrooms. Dangerous fungal infections are increasing rapidly, according to the organization, which is also favored by climate changes and immune-depleting pandemics such as COVID-19. At the same time, there are hardly any effective and globally available antidotes.
as particularly dangerous In addition to Aspergillus species, Cryptococcus neoformans , Candida auris and Candida albicans are also listed. But what about the Cordyceps from The Last of Us?
Away from The Last of Us: That’s how (un)dangerous the real “zombie mushrooms” are for humans
Because the fruiting bodies of the Cordyceps militaris fungus genus are used in traditional Chinese medicine and as food, there was Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety 2013 an assessment of the danger of Cordyceps militaris. The result:
The host range of C. militaris is limited to individual insect species. There is no evidence of pathogenicity for bees, plants, vertebrates or humans.
The genus is not even mentioned by name in the World Health Organization paper on the rising risk of fungal infections.
Instead, Cordyceps mushrooms are advertised online as a performance-enhancing agent or to strengthen the immune system touted. Is that true? Hard to prove. But one thing is clear: allergy sufferers must of course be careful with this type of fungus. Consuming the mushrooms can generally have negative effects and lead to nausea or dizziness, for example. But they certainly don’t turn us into zombies.
Podcast: Why The Last of Us is becoming the better The Walking Dead
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Moviepilot Editor-in-Chief Lisa Ludwig and Rae Grimm, Head of GamePro and Head of Publishing at Webedia Gaming, discuss without spoilerswhy they care so much about The Last of Us, what they hope for from Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin’s series adaptation – and what still worries them a bit.
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What aspect of The Last of Us do you think is the scariest?