The answer: No.
At least, not right now.
In the future, though, its a possibility.
The contenders: Bacteria, viruses, and fungus.
Each has an impressive historical kill-count and its own strengths and weaknesses.
Heres how they stack up.
The case for a fungal pandemic
Fungal infections are mostly a nuisance.
But some types of fungal infections that are more serious.
And the emergence of new kinds of fungal infections is a definite possibility in the future.
Infected people dont breathe out clouds of spores that others breathe in tobecome clickers.
While we definitively breathe in atonof fungal spores all the time, theyre fairly harmless to most of us.
Instead of person-to-person spread, fungal disease outbreaks happen when people breathe in a common source of fungal spores.
But for older people, infants, and other susceptible people, it can be a serious condition.
But all that could change at any time.
Im sure there wouldnt be an issue withthat.
The case for a bacterial pandemic
Bacterial infections are the OGs of worldwide deadly disease outbreaks.
How bacterial infections spread
Bacteria are good at traveling and they areeverywhere.
Thats the bad news.
The good news is that most bacterial infections can be cured through antibiotics.
Once major health scares, like syphilis, have all but disappeared thanks to antibiotics.
Even a deadly disease like Anthrax has a 55% survival rate if treated.
But of course thats not the end of the story.
Over time, antibiotics have become less effective.
The bottom line:Do not discount the chances of an antibiotic resistant super-bacteria from taking out humanity.
Antibiotics basically work by attacking bacterias cell walls, blocking protein production and stopping reproduction.
This is why the flu shot changes every year.
There is good news, though.
The white knights in all these cases were vaccines.
