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A killer fungus is spreading through Europe and may contribute to millions of deaths worldwide thanks to the most recent heatwave.
Aspergillus, which is a type of mould that can cause breathing problems, could infect millions of people a year as it spreads to Northern Europe due to rising temperatures.
It comes as research has found the world is nearing a tipping point with the rise of fungal pathogens, and will contribute to millions of deaths each year.
The warning rings eerily similar to hit TV show The Last of Us, which saw society collapse after a zombie virus spread across humans.
In both the show and the video game it was based on, the disease also came about due to rising temperatures caused by climate change.
Norman van Rhijn, co-author of the study, said: ‘We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of lives, and continental shifts in species distributions.
‘In 50 years, where things grow and what you get infected by is going to be completely different.’
Aspergillus can be particularly threatening to people with lung conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and weakened immune systems.
But fungal research has found it could spead across 77% of terriroty by the year 2,100.
This is due to the world’s heavy use of fossil fuels, exposing an additional nine million people in Europe to the infection.
Elaine Bignell, co-director at the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at Exeter University, said: ‘Its lifestyle in the natural environment may have provided Aspergillus fumigatus with the fitness advantage needed to colonise human lungs.’
Another species, aspergillus flavus, lives on crops and could spread to another 16% of territory in north China, Russia, Scandinavia and Alaska by the year 2,100.
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