Yet another horrific ramification of global warming
Climate change could cause the spread of a brain-infecting fungus throughout the UK, a new scientific study has found.
Entering pop-culture consciousness thanks to The Last of Us – which is currently airing its second season on NOW and Sky – the aspergillus mould is a prominent danger in hotter climates, but as the Earth gradually warms it’s predicted to travel over to Britain and Europe.
Invasive aspergillus not only spoils livestock and renders crops unsafe to consume, it can also kill humans.
Speaking to Sky News, Manchester University’s Dr. Norman van Rhijn and research leader said fungi-based diseases are “extremely difficult” to treat, with only a handful of anti-fungal medicines in circulation.
Up to 1.8 million people die from aspergillosis every year.
Van Rhijn went on to explain: “Most fungi live in the environment. Because that environment is rapidly changing, we will definitely see different kinds of diseases and infections popping up over the next 50 years or so.”
Health institution Wellcome Trust funded the study, although it has yet to be peer-reviewed.
Bristol University professor Dann Mitchell also warned how the healthcare industry needs to be capable of recognising and responding to these new threats, with misdiagnosis commonly occurring when pathogens emerge in previously untouched regions.
Wellcome’s research manager Viv Goosens pointed out: “Fungal pathogens pose a serious threat to human health by causing infections and disrupting food systems. Climate change will make these risks worse. To address these challenges, we must fill important research gaps.”
In the aforementioned TV series, society as we know it has succumbed to a fungal infection that transforms its hosts into marauding mushroom-headed zombies. It is based on the PlayStation video games of the same name and sits on a stellar 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating. There are three more episodes of season two still to air.
