He complained of cough and tiredness: he contracted the deadly fungal disease “silver leaf”, unique in the world

A mycologist contracted a deadly fungal disease for plants, in a case that amazes the world. Regard first case of human infection by the plant fungus “Chondrostereum purpureum”.

The Indian patient arrived at the hospital complaining of recurring cough, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, sore throat and fatigue for three months.

“He had no history of diabetes, HIV infection, kidney disease, or any other chronic disease,” experts explain according to reports RT.

Silver leaf infection in plants

The doctors diagnosed the patient with an infection from ‘Chondrostereum purpureum’a vegetable mushroom which causes silver leaf disease in plants, according to a study by Indian doctors published in the journal Medical mycology case reports.

The hospital investigation revealed that the infection had caused a paratracheal abscess in the neck of the man, who ended up partially obstructing his airways.

It was then that the specialists they prescribed an antifungal per day for two months.

Two years later, the man feels “absolutely fine” and the infection has not returned.

Climate change and an unprecedented case

The surprising case “raises serious questions about the propensity of this type of infection to occur in both healthy and immunosuppressed subjects“, say the doctors.

“Many new pathogenic fungi have emerged in recent decades,” reads the published study.

“Worsening global warming and other civilizational activities open Pandora’s box for new fungal diseases,” they point out.

According to experts, climate change causes the mutation of pathogenic fungiwhich increases its resistance to external factors and its pathogenicity.

Concerns about the possibility of such a biological catastrophe prompted the creation of the popular video game The Last of Us and the popular apocalyptic series of the same name, in which the world faces a deadly pandemic caused by a mutant fungus called cordyceps.