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Friday, 31 July 2020

FUNGUS BY MARK ANTONY RAINES

It had a name one I was later to forget.
It was  called Massospora circadiana this was a original  a fungal  pathogen that  infected a species of beetle  known  as cicada.
I was doing  my job searching  the jungles  of the Amazon  for unusual  specimens  of trees as may be a possible  way to save  future  trees from  disease.
We finished  for the  day  so I went  back  to our camp to catalogue  our findings  and to have  a bit of  rest and tuck into  much  needed food and have  a shower  to wash away  the sweat from toiling  in the amazon.
I was casually  eating my  beans and rice when I felt a tiny bit on my leg which  felt like someone  had pricked me with a sharp needle.
I looked  down  to  see the creature  that inflected  this temporary  pain and saw it was a hybrid  of a Magicicada Tredecassinia species of beetle  normally  lives on Africa; Australia; Asia so this one that just  bite me must  be  a new species  as it was so unknown  to  the amazon.
I was just  about  to  find a net to place it in when  it  spread it's micro sliver-like wings and disappeared.
Feeling  a bit  tired I decided  to call it a day  and get into my sleeping bag  for some much  welcomed  shut eye.

As I lay in my sleeping bag  awaiting  for the sandman  to dust me some dreams I felt a little off colour and my stomach  was feeling  a bit unsettled  ,at first  I just  put it down  to jungle  belly.
Something  was moving  around  in my stomach  is could  see brown tiny speck s all over my abdoman.
My body was becoming inflected ;I could  feel rear segments of my abdomen falling  off when  I managed  in my weakened state to unzip my sleeping bag and crawl  out like a worm .
I shaked my sleeping bag  out and on the ground of the  tent were white  chalky mass of a fungus:which before  my stunned eyes I see it was producing  spores.

I felt  the need to walk around dragging my aabdomen; I try to scream  out on pain but my voice  is mute.
Then it stops and I drop to the  floor.
I awoke  on a hospital  bed and my wife and family  by my side.
I was told by the consulant that I was extremely  lucky that I was found by one of my fellow  research students whom recognised I was in a state  of anaphaylactic shock due to my block airways so he rised my legs into a comfortable position to keep  my blood flowing  to my vital  organs.
After  some time  I was rushed  to nearest  hospital  with a helipad  and given a antidote  stronger  than a epipen.
A month later  I was back  in my country  cottage  just  thinking about  how lucky  I was.
Me and my wife  had some me time I managed  to  fertilize one of my wife  eggs making  her pregnant.
Six weeks  later  we both  wenter along to get a scan to tell us if we were  expecting a boy or a girl.
This is where  things got a bit odd as when the nurse did the scan she let out almighty scream and went  running  to get the doctor.
The doctor  took each of us into an examination room and asked us to strip  off.
We both did so willingly :he took  a look at our  private research and said we both need  to come to his office  straight away.
We both  seat down on very uncomfortable chairs and then he told us.
"I afraid to tell  you  but you are both  sterile and the thing inside is not a baby but what looks like millions of spores of some  sort  of  fungus;we must  inform  you it be best if you  abort these creatures  "
So this is how I became aware  of how just a simple  fungus and the damage  it affict on your life.

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