Cordyceps, Zoonotic Transmission & Pandemics

How microbes threaten to wipe us out

[TL;DR The fungus zombie apocalypse is highly improbable,
however watch out for new viral/bacterial pandemics]

Cordyceps

A genus of the Ascomycota-Fungi kingdom, Cordyceps contains 600 different species discovered to date. Some of these species have a parasitic relationship with insects and control their minds through rudimentary chemical signaling.

Infection of host insect by Ophiocordyceps unilateralis

The show “The Last of Us” imagines a world where a species of fungi has evolved to infect humans. While this is a scary thought the likelihood of this is negligible as our nervous/immune systems are exponentially more complex.

“The Last of Us” Fungi Zombies

There are much more prominent dangers like viral pandemics. We must keep mutation rates in mind. Fungi are relatively much slower at evolving compared to the likes of virus

Showing how viruses rapidly mutate

Zoonotic Transmission

There are many bacteria and viruses that evolved to attack the human body with all its complexities. For most of human civilization the norm was widespread disease and parasitization. They dealt with it in their own ways, with limited success, and now we know what really causes many of these infections. Thankfully, virtually most of these diseases have now been eradicated or significantly managed.

The Impact of Penicillin & Antibiotics

These diseases are now non-fatal given antibiotics are prescribed in due time. When we did not have antibiotics these illnesses would maim or kill in the millions of humans.

• Leprosy

  • Bacterium: Mycobacterium leprae

• Tuberculosis

  • Bacterium: Mycobacterium tubercolosis

• Plague (The Black Death)

  • Bacterium: Yersinia pestis

• Typhus

  • Bacterium: Rickettsia prowazekii, typhi, tsutsugamushi, spotted fever group

• Lyme disease

  • Bacterium: Borellia burgdorferi, mayonii

The Impact of Developed Hygiene Standards

Modern hygiene standards are relatively new in human history. Many developing countries still have some work to do in proper sanitation and hygiene education.

• Dysentery

  • Bacterium: Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Shigella

• Cholera

  • Bacterium: Vibrio cholerae

• Hepatitis E virus

The Impact of Vaccines

Many debilitating and incredibly lethal viruses have been eradicated thanks to the work of vaccine research. Some of these viruses still occur in parts of the world but they are generally contained to their local outbreaks.

• Smallpox virus

• Polio virus

• Measles virus

• Mumps virus

• Rubella virus

• Rabies virus

• Hep A/B viruses

• Ebola virus

• H1N1 virus (Influenza A, Spanish flu/Swine flu)

Mosquito Vector Diseases

There are new vaccines for malaria, but there is discussion over mosquito genetic engineering to completely eradicate them once and for all.

• Malaria

• Typhoid fever

• West nile virus

Ongoing Epidemics & Pandemics

mRNA technology may be able to eradicate these before the end of this century.

• Zika virus

• MERS virus (Middle East respiratory syndrome)

• Hepatitis C virus

• H5N1 virus (Influenza A, Bird flu)

• HIV virus (AIDS)

Viruses can be eradicated, but it means the overwhelming majority of the population must receive effective vaccines to wipe it out in one go. However, due to the mutation rates of viruses there could be a new strain that is just different enough to render the vaccine ineffective. Every person a virus infects is another chance of mutation, which means that highly contagious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 end up mutating a lot: which is exactly what we saw with all the different strains.

Most diseases we encounter are shared among fellow mammals and birds.

As we invade more of their territory and exploit them in industrial quantity, there is incredibly high chance for more zoonotic diseases to transfer over.

Lab Leaks

Here is the thing with SARS-CoV-2. There is evidence that the virus came from a “Novel Coronavirus Lab” in Wuhan. Most likely it was an accidental release, but the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has denied further investigations to save face.

“NIH says grantee failed to report experiment in Wuhan that created a bat virus that made mice sicker“

“Fact Sheet: Activity at the Wuhan Institute of Virology” (U.S. Department of State) → details long history of safety violations

The real concern here is that there is no knowing whether this will happen again in any lab across the world. Humans make mistakes and all it takes is one accident. Alternatively, there may be people with nefarious intents.

Pandemics

The statistics show that pandemics occur on average every ~30 years. This means that in your lifetime there will likely be at least 2 pandemics. We have seen in the past several decades that diseases are emerging more frequently. So in all likelihood expect to live through at least one more pandemic.

When we look at pandemics 2 statistics matter:

R Number

Definition: rate of transmissibility per infected

Lethality rate

Definition: rate of deaths per infected

For an apocalyptic virus to occur it must have the right blend of a high R number and a high to moderate lethality rate. There are also miscellaneous factors such as whether the virus strikes quickly or is prolonged, if it remains dormant for a time, and other contagious mechanisms resulting in greater transmissibility.

The Perfect Storm

An apocalyptic pandemic may be looming in our near future. I don’t mean to be a fearmonger, but many factors are setting us up for catastrophe:

1. Population densities

   1. Exponential rise in transmission rates

2. Globalization/air travel

   1. Instantaneous worldwide transmission

3. Urban sprawl

   1. Incursion into natural habitats that may harbor carriers

4. Industrialized agriculture & livestock

   1. Unnatural density of crops and animals = easier disease transmission

5. Climate change

   1. Increasing hospitable regions for diseases

      1. More infected = more transmission & mutation

6. Unprepared governments

   1. Poor quarantine control & response strategy

7. Reckless scientists

   1. Artificial viruses and bacteria

   2. Poor safety regulation

   3. Breaches of ethical guidelines

8. Antibiotic overuse

   1. Antibiotic resistance on the rise

      1. MDR-TB: multi-drug-resistant Mycobacterium tubercolosis

      2. MRSA: methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

      3. VRE: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus

      4. CRE: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae

I will elaborate on antibiotic resistance and the solutions we could develop, such as bacteriophage therapy, to face this challenge in another post.

Closing Remarks

I think that viral pandemics are the real worry. Genetic engineering grows cheaper every year and CRISPR/mRNA technology has enabled rapid genetic innovation. AI will further accelerate experimentation. Bioterrorism is a plausible future scenario so we must prepare for it. It is up to you to decide if you think your government is ready to handle that. Judging by the COVID pandemic many governments showed great weakness. I will elaborate on other posts this year on what you can do as a household to prepare!