Kolkata man becomes world’s first human to be infected by killer plant fungus

A man based in Kolkata became the first case of a potentiallyd iagnosed with an infection from Chondrostereum Purpureum, a deadly plant fungus. This demonstrates a crossover of plant pathogen into humans when working in close contact with plant fungi.

The 61-year-old man, a plant mycologist, visited the outpatient department of Consultant Apollo Multispeciality Hospital in Kolkata with complaints of cough, hoarseness of voice, recurrent pharyngitis, fatigue, difficulty in swallowing, sore throat and anorexia for three months, said doctors in the journal Medical Mycology Case Reports.

He had no history of diabetes, HIV infection, renal disease, any chronic disease, immunosuppressive drug intake, or trauma. The patient, a plant mycologist by profession, had been working with decaying material, mushrooms, and various plant fungi for a long time as part of his research activities.

Doctors drained out the pus and a sent a sample for testing to the “WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference & Research on Fungi of Medical Importance”, where he was diagnosed with Chondrostereum purpureum.

The researchers, Dr. Soma Dutta and Dr. Ujjwayini Ray of the Consultant Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, further explained in the report that "Chondrostereum purpureum is a plant fungus that causes silver leaf disease in plants, particularly those in the rose family. This is the first instance of a plant fungus causing disease in a human. Conventional techniques (microscopy and culture) failed to identify the fungus.