A fatal fungus similar to the one from the show is The Last of Us, can wreak havoc in our world. A new report suggests that global warming is rapidly increasing the growth of this particular bacterium. Researchers claim that the fatal bacteria are growing at “astonishingly quickly” given climate change.
“Aspergillus species cause severe infections in humans, livestock, and plants,” a pre-print from the University of Manchester reads. According to the same study the fungal pathogens can be seriously fatal to the human body. The pathogens can cause infections and even disrupt food systems.
Viv Goosens, who is a research manager at Wellcome Trust, noted how climate change is to blame for the rapid growth of the fungus. “To address these challenges, we must fill important research gaps,” the manager added.
A Financial Times report predicted that the Aspergillus flavus fungus, which mainly affects crops, will spread more rapidly due to global warming. The report projects that the fungus will spread by 16% by 2100. Aspergillus fumigatus, a fungus that causes infections in asthma patients, will spread by 77% by 2100.
Aspergillus fumigatus is known to cause aspergillosis. The fungus is the “leading cause” of invasive mold infections in the human body, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The CDC shares that people who have been infected with the fungus are “ more likely to die” by 33%.
Urgent warning issued about lethal’super fungus’, which experts fear could kill millions.
A new study warns that Aspergillus fumigatus, a deadly fungus that thrives in warm, humid settings, might soon spread throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, harming millions. pic.twitter.com/pxEINcm1w0
— Amebo9jaTv (@amebo9jatv) May 7, 2025
Exeter University’s Elaine Bignell, who serves as the co-director at the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, told the FT gave his expertise on the topic. Bignell noted how the fungus thrives in heat, making places with high temperatures the perfect breeding grounds. The current state of the world, considering the problem of global warming, is making the fungus grow “astonishingly quickly.”
Dr. Norman van Rhijn, who is the lead author on the study that is researching the fungus, spoke about the “continental shifts” that the fungus could bring about if it continues to grow. “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of lives, and continental shifts in species distributions,” the doctor noted.
Dr. Norman went on to note how things will change 50 years down the line. “Where things grow and what you get infected by is going to be completely different,” he shared.
The show The Last of Us, featuring Pedro Pascal, shows an eerily similar bacteria that ends up taking over the world. The HBO series shows humans getting infected with an infection called Aspergillosis. The infection causes the affected person to get headaches, cough up blood, cause fatigue, and even spread throughout the body. “Reality is already scary enough,” Dr. Norman told Sky News, in reference to the show.
