Item from The Last of Us by Naughty Dog
The fungal pandemic that ended civilization — a mutated Cordyceps that hijacks human brains, spreads through bites and spores, and turns people into monsters in stages over years.
The Cordyceps Brain Infection is the real-world inspired nightmare that ended TLOU's civilization. A mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus (which actually parasitizes insects in nature) adapted to humans, spread through contaminated food (the first wave), then through bites and airborne spores (ongoing). It takes over the host's motor functions, compels them to bite others, and progressively transforms their body into a fungal horror over months and years. The stages of infection are the series' bestiary: Runners are recently infected and still partially human (they scream); Clickers are blind, echolocating hunters who kill with one bite; Bloaters are walking fortresses of fungal armor; and the Rat King is what happens when multiple infected fuse together over decades in a confined space. Ellie is immune. She is the only known immune person. The vaccine was possible because her brain's Cordyceps growth mutated in a way that doesn't take over motor function. Joel's decision to prevent the surgery means the cure remains unmade.
In early stages, victims appear normal but aggressive. As infection progresses: Runners (days — fast, violent, partially aware), Stalkers (weeks — hide in dark places, ambush), Clickers (months — fungal plates cover the face, echolocation replaces sight), Bloaters (years — massive, armored in fungal growth, throw mycotoxin bombs). The Rat King (decades — a fused mass of multiple infected, the series' most terrifying creature).
Also known as: CBI, Cordyceps, The Infection