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What If You Were Infected by the Cordyceps Fungus? (The Last of Us IRL)

What If | September 19, 2025



Deep in the jungle, there’s a fungus that infects creatures, and turns them into zombies. This deadly fungus, known as Cordyceps, has the ability to take out entire species. What if this fungus infected you, by touching your skin, or just by breathing it in? Could the Cordyceps fungus turn you into a zombie? What would it do to your body? And how likely is it that this will happen to you?

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Comments

This post currently has 46 comments.

  9. @InfiniteCookie3-jo2bb

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    Due to climate change I read that there’s been an increase in fungi that are becoming more resilient to treatment. they also mention that due to climate change and heat rising they’re seeing more and more fungi. Basically says that climate change could contribute to an overall rise in other types of fungal infections across the globe and fungal pathogens are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment and there’s over 400 species of Cordyceps around the world ☺️

  15. @theroosterhimself5900

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    Also the infection stages you just mentioned are grossly incorrect and whould not happen the fungus does not take over the nervous system it's a eukaryote not a virus it cannot interact with brain cells at all unless to destroy them or feed it can't interact with muscles either the way it could is by growing on the brain spinal cord or whatever and putting pressure on it that could induce aggression

  19. @nihlgaming1510

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    Cordyceps can't infect human because they can't stand against our body temprature etc, but in TLOU the fungus is evolution and get genetic change, in real life can human force the Cordyceps fungus to evolution and change their genetik like in TLOU, because if we wait until it actually happen naturally its gonna take a very very long time with low probability, it just questions doesn't mean i hope someone did that and spread the Cordyceps all around the world and change this world to destroy something he hate about people like status social, social standart etc with start the apocalypse zombie 😅

  22. @emiliechee7385

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    Fine let me explain this is cordyceps or zombie-ant fungus which The zombifying scourge in HBO's The Last of Us is a real fungus called cordyceps, otherwise known as the “zombie-ant fungus.” While cordyceps are adept at hijacking the brains of its insect hosts, it stands little chance against a human's complex immune system.
    So there's no worry about it 😉
    Edit: If you lazy to watch you can read this.

  24. @kiefersuazo2764

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    All zombie can mutate because of the toxic air it can use a ability and also there is a more type of virus and zombie
    Like this boomer runner armor tank fungus and more du to mutant and you need a gas mask to provide the toxic air

  31. @sophisticated8504

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    I have researched over this fungus and even took it on my hand well it can't penetrate the human first defence under the skin if any even enters it won't survive the temperature even if it does there something called the immune system that is 1 million times more powerful than most pathogens so the zombie apocalypse is not possible

  34. @Keruru_11

    September 19, 2025 at 11:52 pm

    It's funny how the series and the game made people terrified of cordyceps evolving. Cordyceps are edible and can help your immune system, there's also a possibility to cure tumor and cancer.

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