If you’ve binged your way through HBO’s The Last of Us (or button-mashed your way through the game long before it), you’ll know it’s not your typical zombie tale. No mad scientists or radiation leaks here — just a creepy fungus with a knack for turning living creatures into shambling husks.
But here’s the unsettling bit: that fungus? It’s real. Sort of.
Before you panic-buy tinned food and build a bunker in your nan’s shed, let’s break it down.
The Fungus Among Us
The baddie in The Last of Us is a mutated strain of a real-life fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which infects insects — specifically ants. When a spore lands on an unsuspecting ant, it penetrates its body, spreads, and hijacks its brain. The ant is then compelled to climb to a high vantage point, clamp onto a leaf, and wait for the inevitable. Eventually, the fungus bursts through the ant’s head and releases spores onto the forest floor, ready to start the cycle again.
Nature: beautiful and utterly horrifying.
This gruesome process earned the nickname “zombie fungus,” and you can see why. It’s also the inspiration for the terrifyingly believable apocalypse in The Last of Us, where a mutated version starts infecting humans — with planet-ending consequences.
So… Can It Infect Us?
Here’s the good news: no. For now.
Cordyceps fungi are highly specialised. The ones that infect ants, grasshoppers or tarantulas (yes, tarantulas — sleep tight) don’t have the tools to infect mammals. Their ability to manipulate behaviour is intricately evolved over thousands of years to suit one specific species at a time. So unless you’re an ant with a taste for high drama, you’re safe.
But, and there’s always a “but”…
Fungi are incredibly adaptable. They don’t mutate overnight, but they do slowly respond to changes in their environment. Scientists have raised concerns — especially in the face of climate change — that fungal pathogens might begin to evolve in new and unpredictable ways. After all, many fungi struggle to survive at human body temperature. But if global temperatures rise and fungi adapt accordingly?
Well, they might start getting a little more comfortable at 37°C…
We’re not saying you’ll be sprouting mushrooms out of your ears by Christmas, but researchers are paying attention.
Nature, You Scary
While Cordyceps can’t zombify us (yet), fungi in general have always been a bit of a wild card. Take Candida auris, a fungus that’s been making headlines in recent years for causing difficult-to-treat infections in hospitals. Or Aspergillus, which can cause serious illness in immunocompromised people. Or even Athlete’s foot, which is mostly just annoying, but still a fungal infection you could probably do without.
Fungi are weird. They’re not plants, not animals, and yet they’re absolutely everywhere. In fact, about 90% of all plants rely on fungi in some form to survive. So while most fungi are either helpful or harmless, the tiny percentage that aren’t? Yeah, they’re worth watching.
A Bit Too Real?
When The Last of Us premiered, viewers were equal parts hooked and horrified. The idea that this terrifying scenario is rooted in reality gives the story an extra chill factor. It’s not a radioactive spider bite or an alien invasion. It’s a fungus. A thing you probably brushed off your trainers this morning.
And creators of the show knew exactly what they were doing. In the first episode, a fictional epidemiologist casually warns of a global fungal pandemic — long before any clickers appear. The show’s power lies in its plausibility. If we can live through a global pandemic caused by a virus no one had heard of before 2019… well, what’s stopping a fungus from taking centre stage next time?
Should We Be Worried?
No. Not really.
Unless you’re an insect living in the rainforest, Ophiocordyceps isn’t coming for you. But the idea of fungal pandemics is something scientists are beginning to take more seriously. Not because of The Last of Us, but because global warming and increased human-fungal contact (thanks to travel, agriculture, deforestation, and so on) are creating new opportunities for pathogens to evolve.
That said, the jump from “annoying fungal rash” to “world-ending mushroom apocalypse” is a very big one. And it’s not happening tomorrow.
So, What’s the Takeaway?
If The Last of Us made you eye your sourdough starter with suspicion, you’re not alone. But there’s no need to panic. Cordyceps-inspired zombies are still firmly in the realm of fiction — for now.
Still, it’s a fascinating (and gross) reminder that nature has a few tricks up its sleeve. And if we needed any more proof that fungi are equal parts bizarre and brilliant, here it is.
So, should we fear the zombie fungus? Nah.
But maybe don’t pick up any suspicious mushrooms off the pavement. Just in case.