Cordyceps Brain Infection

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.

Also known as: CBI, Cordyceps, The Infection

What They Know

• Infection stages: Runner (days), Stalker (weeks), Clicker (months to years), Bloater (years), Shambler (wet-environment variant), Rat King (decades of fusion)
• Transmission: bites (saliva-to-blood), spore inhalation (airborne in enclosed spaces), and the initial food-supply contamination that started the pandemic
• Ellie's unique mutation: the Cordyceps grows in her brain but doesn't control her. This mutation could theoretically produce a vaccine through surgical extraction (fatal to Ellie)
• The fungal network: in the HBO series, infected are connected through underground mycelium networks — disturbing one alerts others
• Counter-measures: gas masks for spores, UV light for detection, and fire for area clearance

Connections

• immunity_of — ellie
• includes_stage — clicker
• includes_stage — bloater

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