A fungus known for killing trees has infected a human for the first time, causing a pus-filled abscess to grow in his throat


Olde Hornet

Well-Known Member
  • 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.
It seems like a scene out of "The Last of Us" — a fungus never before seen in humans has just been discovered growing in a person for the first time.

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.
 
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