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30th March 2023
08:52am BST
A 61-year-old man has died after being infected by a killer plant fungus.
The plant mycologist caught the fungal disease after suffering from flu-like symptoms for months.
He also struggled with swallowing before a huge abscess had appeared in his windpipe.
It is the first time a killer fungus has jumped from plant to person and is likely to cause some concern after hit TV show The Last Of US told the story of a 'zombie' fungus that wiped out large swathes of the global population.
The apocalyptic drama, that starts with a fungal outbreak, raised awareness among the masses of the potential dangers of human infection.
The HBO series of course took plenty of dramatic liberties, but experts say it's good for the public to take possible threats seriously.
The recent real-life death will be cause for concern for some, even though it is very much an isolated case.
Chondrostereum purpureum managed to infect a man in India while he was carrying out research as a mycologist.
Plant mycologists work directly with moulds, yeast and mushrooms.
The man, who was not named in the journal Medical Mycology Case Reports, had been working with mushrooms, plant fungi and decaying material 'for a long time', the doctors who treated him claimed.
Experts have warned this first-ever case 'raises serious questions' because it proves the infection can affect both 'healthy as well as immunocompromised individuals'.
The fungus typically causes silver leaf disease in plants.
It spreads by airborne spores and leaves plant foliage an odd metallic colour before slowly killing them off.
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