On Sat, 6 Jun 2020 10:30:56 -0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
Certes wrote:
On 06/06/2020 10:18, Recliner wrote:
One reason is that evolutionary pressures makes the virus less lethal.
After all, for the virus to survive and thrive, its hosts also needs to
stay well enough to mix with other potential hosts. If a lethal strain of
the virus immediately makes infected hosts ill, and kills many of them, the
virus can't spread. Conversely, if it mutates to cause minimal symptoms, it
will spread widely. So, benign mutations are more successful than lethal
ones.

If we're really lucky, hosts of the benign variant may develop immunity
to the original versions, providing us with a free vaccine.


Yes, that may be part of why pandemics are short-lived. If the benign
version spreads widely, as it's evolved to do, it could mean that the whole
population develops some level of immunity to its nastier cousins.

The alternative method of pandemics stopping is that it kills everyone who
is susceptable. Which is why the black death disappeared for hundreds of
years at a time them came back when genetic immunity had been lost. We're
rather overdue for another dose though cleaner living since the 20th
century in the west and antibiotics has probably done for that particular
disease.