Those who played The Last of US knows the zombies aren't the normal undead but for those watching the TV series we thought we'd explain what the infected are

What are the infected in The Last of Us TV series? You’d be forgiven for thinking that The Last of Us is a classic zombie story about humanity desperately trying to survive against hordes of the undead. But if you’ve played the game, you’ll know the monsters in this story are a little different. Rubber Moulds

In the classic videogame, the infected that stalk Joel, Ellie, and all of our favourite The Last of Us characters aren’t really zombies. They’re just victims of a virulent fungal infection. This isn’t a nasty case of athlete’s foot, though. This is a plague worthy of any zombie movie.

So if you want to learn more about these strange zombies before you start watching the upcoming The Last of Us TV series, check out our guide to the infected. Warning spoilers for the videogame (and potentially the horror series) ahead.

The infected are humans who’ve become hosts to a mutated form of the Cordyceps fungus.

This virulent mould is capable of infecting the human brain, and as it grows, it drives its host insane, transforming them into a zombie-like creature which instinctively seeks to spread the fungus to other victims.

The exact origin of the mutated Cordyceps isn’t known. That said, there’s some evidence in the game that it came from South America and ended up in the food chain, where it was able to infect humans.

In The Last of Us TV series, the infection is spread through exposure to bodily fluids contaminated with the mutated Cordyceps, most commonly bites. In the game, the fungus is spread through bites and airborne spores, meaning Joel frequently has to wear a gas mask to protect himself.

The thriller series writers decided to drop the spores because it seemed a little silly that the spores in the air wouldn’t infect Joel. Dropping the spores has the added benefit that Pedro Pascal doesn’t have to wear a gas mask constantly.

There is no known cure for the infection. If an infected bites you, the Cordyceps fungus immediately starts to attack the brain. Within just a few hours, most infected begin to display aggressive characteristics, and after two days, the victim will be reduced to an aggressive zombie-like state.

While there is no known cure for the infection, at least one individual, Ellie, is immune to the infection, and the Fireflies believe a cure could be found using the little girl. It is unknown if there are other people like Ellie in the world who are immune to Cordyceps.

Everyone who becomes infected with the Cordyceps fungus loses their mind and becomes a cannibalistic ghoul, but this is just the initial stage of the infection.

As time goes on, the fungus continues to grow in its host’s brain, mutating the infected into more and more bizarre forms. There are four distinct stages of the Cordyceps’ evolution and two more unique sub-forms which are encountered in the sequel game.

As the infected used to be human, they can be killed like any other animal. This becomes more difficult depending on what stage the infected is currently in, with Bloaters being far tougher than Runners.

Killing an infected, however, will not kill the fungus inside the host, and as such, the spores released upon its death pose a danger to those around the corpse.

For more on The Last of Us, check out our guide to how many episodes of The Last of Us TV series will there be, and find out the answer to where can I watch The Last of Us.

If you want to know what we thought of the show, you can read our The Last of Us TV series review, and if you’re trying to place who exactly stars in the show, well, check out our article breaking down The Last of Us cast.

Finally, if you’re a fan of the videogame, Our sister site, The Loadout, has a The Last of Us part 1 remake review, as well as their guide to the best PS5 games.

The Last of Us will be available on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW with an Entertainment Membership for just £9.99.

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Plastic Molds Editor at The Digital Fix and fan of dressing like a time-traveller, Tom loves three things; the MCU, Spider-Man, Ghostbusters... oh, and writing in the third person.