Brace yourself for a major price hike at the supermarket.
Bananas may be on their way to extinction. And what’s the culprit? A deadly fungus.
The dangerous fungus, a strain of Fusarium oxysporum, has reportedly been affecting areas of Southeast Asia for decades, but now it has made its way to South America, threatening the yellow fruit.
The fungus can’t be killed by traditional chemicals and it’s already entered countries like Ecuador and Colombia.
Colombia has even declared a national state of emergency over the threat.
“Once it’s in a country, it’s very hard to get rid of it,” Dan Bebber, a senior lecturer in Biosciences at Exeter University, told Wired.com.
Scientists believe that quarantining the affected bananas to save a small amount of them could combat the epidemic.
But in the meantime, bananas in the U.S. might see a major price hike due to the outbreak.
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