Killer plant fungus infects first human in Kolkata

The first case of a potentially fatal fungal infection caused by plants has been discovered in a Kolkata man. A 61-year-old plant mycologist complained for three months of recurrent couch potato, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, sore throat, and fatigue.

The man, who has not been named, worked with rotting material, fungi and various plant fungi for a long time as part of his research activities, the doctors reported in the journal Medical Mycology Case Reports. He had no history of diabetes, HIV infection, kidney disease, any chronic disease, immunosuppressive drugs, or trauma.

Male doctors performed an X-ray and CT scan. A chest x-ray came back "normal", but CT scan results showed a paratracheal abscess in the neck. Paratracheal abscesses can block the airway and lead to life-threatening infections that can be fatal if not caught and treated quickly.

Doctors removed the pus and sent a sample for testing to the "WHO Collaborating Center for Reference & Research on Fungi of Medical Importance", where he was diagnosed with Chondrostereum purpureum."Chondrostereum purpureum is a plant fungus that causes silver leaf disease in plants, especially those in the Rosaceae family." This is the first case of a plant fungus causing human disease. Conventional techniques (microscopy and culture) failed to identify the fungus," the report adds.

“The identity of this unusual pathogen could only be revealed through sequencing. This case highlights the potential of environmental plant fungi to cause disease in humans and highlights the importance of molecular techniques to identify the causative fungal species,” he said.

The patient received a course of antifungals, and after two years of follow-up, the patient was completely well with no evidence of recurrence, the researchers wrote.