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Not really, no. The "niche" that pathologic microbes play is basically entirely negative. Any supposed benefits are certainly well drowned out by massive mort
by Amorymeltzer 11y ago
Not really, no. The "niche" that pathologic microbes play is basically entirely negative. Any supposed benefits are certainly well drowned out by massive mortality and morbidity. Nobody cries for mass murderers.
To your second question, that can be a big problem. HIV is probably the best example. Patients receiving HAART can really hurt themselves if they skip a treatment; it gives the virus enough time to mutate and get ahead. Usually this works at the individual level because of the mutation rates in viruses - and their tendency to revert upon infection to a new host - but theoretically yes. Moral of the story? Always take all your drugs.
- tomjen3 11y agoCouldn't the second problem be solved with bacteriophage therapy?
- Amorymeltzer 11y agoHow? Phage therapy — which, let's be real, isn't accepted anywhere outside of Russia, Georgia, and Poland(?) — would only help against bacterial pathogens. It's useless against other viruses.
- foota 11y ago"And their tendency to revert upon infection to a new host" - Are you saying that viruses revert to some sort of "base version" when they transfer from host to host? I'd never heard of such a thing. How would that work?
- adrianN 11y agoNew hosts don't take drugs that kill certain variants of the virus, so the version that does best in a drug free environment replicates quickest. That's usually different from the version that does best in the drugged environment.
- Amorymeltzer 11y agoYes. Depends on the virus, but in the case of HIV infection, the patient can produce over 1 billion new virus particles a day. Given the size (10kb) and mutation rate (10-3 to 10-6, iirc) every single nucleotide is mutated every single day. There's more to it than that (lookup "biological filter" for example), but the virus must mutate to avoid drugs, which usually means a fitness hit (lower replication, for example). Upon infection of a new host, the virus can quickly maximize fitness once again. Not a "base version" per se, but a more ideal, fit virus, without many/most of the escape mutations.
- gizmo686 11y agoIf that is the case, then would it be possible for someone who skipped a dose and development a resistant strain, to continue skipping doses until his virus looses its resistance?