Zombie apocalypse caused by mind-altering fungi, like those in hit TV show The Last of Us, is possible MPs are warned
A zombie apocalypse caused by mind-altering fungi is possible and people should be worried, MPs were warned today.
Deadly new fungal infections that can colonize human bodies, like in the hit TV show The Last of Us, are emerging faster than ever and evolving quickly to avoid drugs.
But experts say not enough research is being done into new treatments because it is not profitable for pharmaceutical companies.
Matthew Fisher, professor of fungal diseases at Imperial College London, said the scale of the threat to humanity is not being recognised.
“Fungi pose a huge global public health burden,” he told the committee on science, innovation and technology. ‘Fungal diseases are among the top when it comes to global mortality.’
MPs have been warned that new fungal infections that can colonize human bodies, such as in the hit TV show The Last of Us (pictured), are emerging faster than ever and developing rapidly to avoid drugs.
A fungus called cordyceps, or zombie ant fungus, is able to control the minds of insects using psychoactive chemicals. It draws nutrients from their bodies before moving to a high place and releasing spores to infect others.
The Emmy Award-winning The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic drama based on a popular video game, depicts a world where cordyceps has spread to humans and wiped out most of humanity.
Worryingly, Professor Fisher said rising global temperatures are causing fungi such as cordyceps to evolve and adapt to warmer conditions – which could allow them to colonize human bodies.
MP Dawn Butler asked: ‘Is a zombie apocalypse caused by fungal infections a possibility?’
Professor Fisher said, “Well, all the pieces exist, don’t they?
‘Fungi can produce highly psychoactive chemicals, which can dramatically affect our behavior, and they can also spread and enter humans.
“I’d say it’s unlikely, but fungi do very well, so it’s possible.”
He added: ‘There is public panic around mold, but this increased awareness can only be a good thing.’
More than 6.5 million people suffer from serious fungal diseases and 2.5 million die from them every year – more than malaria and tuberculosis combined. Professor Fisher said fungal attacks are also threatening the global food supply, which could be ‘catastrophic’.
Professor Fisher said new threats are emerging all the time and diseases are rapidly evolving to combat drugs.
Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungal disease that can cause bloodstream infections and death, has spread rapidly across Asia, Europe and the US over the past decade.
‘There is a huge, deep source of fungal organisms, and these could spread through our global trade routes to colonize the planet,’ says Professor Fisher.
‘We’ve seen this with the amphibian-destroying chytrid, which has driven a wrecking ball through tropical ecologies and rendered forests silent. We now see the same thing in people when it comes to the spread of Candida auris.
‘There are at least twenty new antifungal drugs in preclinical development; if we could release these, they would greatly strengthen our antifungal arsenal.”
Some fungi can also be used to treat diseases.
Statins and penicillin come from fungi, while psilocybin, a hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms, can be used to treat anorexia, fibromyalgia, compulsive gambling, depression and anxiety.