When one fungus manages to infect and spread in a plant, the consequences can be fatal. If the disease is not treated soon, there is a risk of losing a healthy part of the plant or even the entire plant. But is it possible that a plant fungus could cause something in a human being?
It happened to a 61-year-old Indian mycologist. He would have developed the "silver leaf" disease in his throat. This would be the first time that the pathogen has managed to infect a human being.
see more
Food selectivity: a risky behavior for children
Gene therapy eye drops bring hope to millions of people…
It is not The Last of Us: plant fungus infects humans in India
The case was published in the scientific journal Medical Mycology Case Reports. In the article, it is reported that the patient had symptoms such as cough, hoarse voice, fatigue and difficulty swallowing.
One tomography of the neck showed that there was an abscess with pus in the region of the trachea. When they did laboratory tests, they did not find any worrisome bacteria, but an examination using special staining showed long filaments similar to fungal hyphae at the site.
The man is believed to have been infected at work. He is a mycologist and was doing research with decaying materials and other plant fungi. The hypothesis is that he was exposed to these substances for a long time and, probably, without adequate safety material.
He was in continuous treatment for 60 days. In addition, he was periodically followed up for two years to assess new or recurrent infections.
Seriously though, yeast infections are more common than you think.
Fungal diseases are very common among humans. Of course there's none like in The Last of Us, but they have a lot of occurrence.
Ringworm, athlete's foot It is candidiasis are some of the examples of fungal infections that affect humans all the time – especially when the immune system is a little weak.
In some cases, fungi can settle indoors, where they can cause more serious illnesses, such as fungal pneumonia.
However, it is good to emphasize that there is treatment. Mycoses and the like are easily treated with ointments and instances of internal fungal disease can be excised with medication.
Graduated in Social Communication at the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.
