A cat infected by the newly-discovered fungus on the left, and post cure on the right.
Imagine a sci-fi subgenre that focused on a post-feline world. Assuredly you can't, because the thought is too horrible. But here's the perfect antagonist: a new species of feline fungus that's so far been extremely hard to cure. Oh, and it's killed humans, too.
Now, before we all start freaking out, it's highly doubtful that Aspergillus felis will bring about the kitty apocalypse. But according to Dr. Vanessa Barrs of the University of Sydney, who just published a report documenting A. felis in PLOS One, the progression of the disease caused by the fungus included "severe signs including blindness and generalised seizures" that led to the majority of treated cats to be euthanized.
Seven years ago, Barrs first observed an "unusual" infection in the eyes of three cats with fungal rhinosinusitis (FRS) at the University of Sydney's cat treatment center. Based on those first observations, she thought she might be dealing with something novel.
"These cats presented with a tumour-like growth in one of their eye sockets, that had spread there from the nasal cavity," Barrs said in a release. "The fungal spores are inhaled and in susceptible cats they establish a life-threatening infection that is very difficult to treat."
Soon after she joined up with her co-authors from the CBS-KNAW fungal biodiversity center in the Netherlands, and the group spent six years tracking down evidence that A. felis was indeed a new species of fungi. Like other species in its genus, A. felis can reproduce asexually and sexually, but based on molecular and reproductive analysis, the team declared it a new species.
According to the paper, samples were taken from 17 domestic cats, a dog, and a human. The disease proved fatal for the 56-year-old man in question, who was also suffering from a respiratory disease. According to a University of Sydney release, two humans have been recorded with the infection, both of whom had "highly compromised immune systems" and both of whom died.
So far the infection appears to be pretty rare, but the next step for Barrs and company is to further study samples of Aspergillus infections to see if some have been misidentified. Regardless, until a therapy is found, A. felis is bad news for housecats.