One of the characteristics of a pathogen is based on its specificity to its host. What’s more, those who infected individuals from one kingdom were, in most cases, unable to replicate their mistakes on individuals from another kingdom. For example, plant pathogens such as tobacco mosaic virus are not capable of infecting humans. However, site sciencealert.com teach us that in 2021 a 61 year old Indian mycologist was infected by a phytopathogenic fungus that attacks plants and with the name Chondrostereum purpureum.

An infection that remembers, all things considered, a cult series already last of us where the world is attacked by a fungus that turns humans into zombies (see video below). Usually rather specific for roses, pear trees and other rhododendrons, causing parasitic lead disease in them, the fungus persists thriving in the sexagenarian tracheal tissues. “This first documented case of infection is a rare example of a pathogen apparently making giant leaps through the tree kingdom of life,” write sciencealert.com. A case so rare that it became a topic of conversationa study published in January in the journal Medical Mycology Case Report.

Although yeast infections are not uncommon in humans – in general Aspergillus And Candidate is a good example of this – these infections are most often due to a weakened immune system or already busy fighting another infection or chronic disease. but here, “The patient appears to have a fully functioning immune system, with no indications for immunosuppressive treatment, HIV, diabetes or other chronic disease, [ce qui] making the situation even more troubling.” worries sciencealert.com.

Two years after his infection, Indian mycologists no longer showed any signs of the fungus. For specialists, this case shows how important it is to keep an eye on “human pathogens capable of jumping between their potential plant kingdom and reservoir”, recalls the Australian news site, because they can promote the emergence of infectious diseases.