Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
A fungus known for killing trees has infected a human for the first time, causing a pus-filled abscess to grow in his throat
Doctors in India warned that the worsening of global warming "opens Pandora's Box for newer fungal diseases."
- A man in India visited a doctor for a sore throat that affected his ability to eat and swallow.
- Doctors found an abscess in his throat, and it was full of a fungus usually only found on trees.
- These infections may grow more common in humans as fungi adapt to warmer temperatures.
A plant researcher in India saw a doctor for a sore throat and learned he had a fungal infection growing in his throat, causing an abscess that had to be drained of pus.
Fortunately for him, this fungus was nothing like the Cordecyps seen in the hit HBO TV show. It's known to gardeners as silver leaf, a progressive disease that turns a tree's leaves silver before killing the infected branch.
The patient, a 61-year-old man, told doctors that he had a long history of working with decaying plant materials for research, according to a report published in the journal Medical Mycology Case Reports. He sought medical attention after three months of hoarseness, trouble swallowing, loss of appetite, cough, and fatigue.