The entire first season of the series Last of us revolves around Joel and Ellie’s journey in search of scientists who want to create a vaccine against fungus cordyceps. After decades of the pandemic, no one has yet succeeded, so Ellie’s immunity had to be studied. But is it really that hard to make? vaccine against fungal infections?
We have already seen that there are parts of the series that are scientifically realistic and others that are completely exaggerated. But in this case, it is not so rare. It is true that vaccination against the fungus cordyceps or any other, it is not easy.
He explained it in an article for Talk Rebecca Drummondprofessor of immunology Birmingham University. In it, he explains all the clues that make getting this type of vaccine difficult in real life. He even focuses on why cordyceps won’t be easy either. These range from the patients to whom the vaccines will be directed to the variability of the pathogen. But let’s see what it all means.
The most prosperous could not be vaccinated
Fungal infections are usually not dangerous to humans. Only immunocompromised people. In fact, infections sometimes occurred and became a serious problem for hospitalized patients.
And here’s the main problem, why it’s hard to get these vaccines. Live vaccines, which may provide the most benefit, are dangerous for this type of patient. Introduce a healthy person weakened pathogen it does not harm you, but it helps build protection against infection in the future. On the contrary, in immunocompromised people, even an attenuated pathogen can be dangerous. Therefore, it is recommended that they not be vaccinated and enjoy the so-called herd immunity. But in this case it would be counterproductivefor they will be the ones who will most need the vaccine they cannot get.
We must remember that, unlike what happens with cordyceps V Last of usfungal pandemics, very unlikely because they usually do not affect the entire population.
cordyceps and other mushrooms change shape
Fungal infections are not transmitted through bites, as is the case cordyceps V Last of us. As a rule, it is the spores of the fungus that cause the infection. Once they enter the body, the immune system deals with them. If they fail to destroy the fungus at this very moment, it continues to develop. So he changes form. This makes it difficult to train the immune system with a vaccine, as there are, to say the least, roughdifferent forms of fungus that can attack.
Will there be a case like Ellie’s in Last of us?
IN Last of usEllie seems to be the solution to the problem, as she is immune to cordyceps. It’s not that uncommon. serum with antibodies resistant or cured people have been used to fight a variety of infections caused by other types of pathogens.
For example, this was done with Ebola. However, in this case, they don’t want to use Ellie’s antibodies. The series talks about chemical messengers secrete fungi that grow in the body of a girl. For this reason, the doctors want to open his brain and extract the fungus and the messengers it emits.
This is much more fiction than what is actually needed to get a vaccine. There is no need to consider the dilemma that Joel faces. But even in this case, it is clear what to get vaccine against cordyceps. Also, as if that weren’t enough, drug development isn’t easy either, and few antifungal drugs that there are many resistant mushroomsas it does with bacteria and antibiotics. Fortunately, the pandemic shown in Last of us be unrealistic; because if it did, finding solutions would be quite a challenge.
Source: Hiper Textual
