Watching The Last of Us on Max or playing the video game of the same name that inspired the series is one thing; living a reality where a plant fungus can infect a human is another thing entirely, but a recent TikTok video states that the time is upon us. We were hoping it was just a spooky season prank.
In fact, most of our TikTok videos lately have brought some not-too-heavily focused fear right to our doorstep in days as of late; from being stuck in a Corvette, to a stalker neighbor that isn’t being taken care of properly, it’s all a little unnerving — and now we’ve got this: a fungus that can kill plants has reportedly infected a human for the first time, and we’re all calling on Joel Miller to help us.
While most know him best as Daddy Pedro, after seeing this TikTok, you’ll likely refer to Pedro Pascal only as Miller and hope he pulls through to help save us all if The Last of Us becomes a little less entertainment and a little more reality.
A 61-year-old mycologist contracted a disease once thought only to affect plants, and if this video made you a little anxious, you’re not alone. Quite frankly, it’s the following statement for us:
“Cross-kingdom human pathogens and their potential plant reservoirs have important implications for the emergence of infectious diseases.”
While some viewers are quite a bit concerned with the contents of the TikTok, others are just ready to don their “end of the world” get up; it’s fashion, okay?
This comment stopped us in our tracks because it’s true; it’s not just The Last of Us coming to fruition; there’s a film from quite a few years back that warned us of this very possibility — and it stars the handsome Mark Wahlberg.
For some, ignorance is bliss, and we have to say — we’re on board with this idea of thinking; we never heard this information. Can the team from Men In Black come to give us a hand?
We’ve already had to ponder if the cordyceps virus is real — yes, it is — and if it could infect us in our day-to-day lives and up to this point, we would have answered with a quick (and a grateful) “no,” but now, we can’t be so sure.
Science Alert notes that in the “first reported case of its kind,” an Indian mycologist contracted a “rather serious case” of a disease once thought to only be transmitted to and by plants.
“In what researchers suggest is the first reported case of its kind, a 61-year-old Indian mycologist appears to have contracted a rather serious case of silver leaf disease in his own throat, providing a rare example of a pathogen seemingly making an enormous leap across entire kingdoms in the tree of life.
A case study published in June 2023 describes a male patient in India’s eastern region presenting to a medical center with a cough and hoarse voice, fatigue, and difficulty swallowing. A CT X-ray scan of his neck revealed a pus-filled abscess next to his trachea. Lab tests failed to find any bacteria of concern, but a special staining technique for fungi revealed the presence of long, root-like filaments called hyphae.”
While fungal diseases aren’t necessarily rare in humans, most aren’t reported to be especially harmful or infectious to a degree that would cause the fear of life-altering/ending disease progression; think things like nail infections, ringworm, and thrush — to name a few. For people who are diagnosed with these conditions, treatment is usually straightforward, with minimal issues.
Pus-filled abscesses, trouble swallowing, and a terrible cough? That certainly ups the ante from something that could be considered a “common” occurrence and is sure to elicit a level of fear in anyone who has ever pondered a little too long over their symptoms or run to Google to find out what that headache really means.
With the case still being called the “first reported” and right now, the only one that the public is aware of, we can rest just a little bit easier, but you might want to binge The Last of Us or The Walking Dead just to make sure you’re… ahem … prepared if things take a turn.