An elderly man from India has become the first person in history to be hospitalised due to a fungus that causes a disease called 'silver leaf' in plants.
The name of the 61-year-old resident of Kolkata has not been released. It is known that he works as a plant mycologist.
A man went to the hospital thinking he had the flu. The Indian resident complained to doctors about coughing, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, and fatigue, Science Direct reports.
Doctors found an abscess in the patient's trachea. They drained it and took samples, which were sent for testing. It took a long time to get the results. It was later discovered that the cause was a fungus of the species Chondrostereum purpureum.
Experts were amazed, because it infects only plants. However, the fungus is really dangerous for them and can lead to death. Before this, there were no recorded cases in the history of medicine when a person was infected with this fungus.
The Indian man was treated for 2 months. During this time, he underwent two antifungal courses. Then, the man was observed for 2 years. It was assumed that complications could make themselves known. However, the fears were in vain. There were no relapses either.
The patient, doctors believe, was infected with the fungus during his work. The mycologist worked a lot with mold, yeast, and fungi.
The case raised concerns among experts. The scientific community spent two years to study it in more detail. One theory is that global warming stimulates mutations in fungi that become resistant to drugs and survive in the human body.
