From Wired:

The infection from HBO’s The Last of Us is actually based on a real parasitic fungus. This fungus turns insects into zombies. The creators of the game and the show were inspired by zombie carpenter ants. WIRED spoke with Dr. Charissa de Bekker to talk about the real fungus that inspired the show’s infected, and how the show’s zombies parallel these real-life ants.

[Wired]