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A large portion of that population loss in the Americas was due to diseases brought from Europe. But those diseases went through evolution in an environment th

A large portion of that population loss in the Americas was due to diseases brought from Europe. But those diseases went through evolution in an environment that's similar to America -- it had the same atmosphere, similar soil, plant life, etc. Even the hosts were similar. But an alien virus would have none of those things. Chances are it would find earth inhospitable and be completely unable to survive much less spread. It would be truly remarkable if an alien virus found earth/humans compatible.

wyager 9y ago
> A large portion of that population loss in the Americas was due to diseases brought from Europe. The vast majority was caused by an ill-timed native viral hemorrhagic fever, not European diseases.
- jacobolus 9y ago
  There were several waves of smallpox, influenza, measles, mumps, typhus, cholera, bubonic plague, tuberculosis, yellow fever, whooping cough, etc., which ran rampant through the Americas, often simultaneously ripping through the same communities. I don’t know what native virus you are referring to (citation?), but it is estimated that in many parts of the Americas population collapsed by about 90% in the course of a century or two (sometimes faster), and the scholarly consensus is that this was largely due to Eurasian diseases to which people had no immunity. The societal collapse brought on by disease also led to internecine war, helping depopulation along. And obviously the numerous instances of genocidal slaughter by Europeans and forced migration later contributed to the final native depopulation of many areas.
anoonmoose 9y ago
Or, a virus finds our environment just barely hospitable enough and adapts like all life does, multiplying like rabbits in Australia.
bdamm 9y ago
Or, we find out that DNA has a common base among the galaxy thanks to panspermia, and that the equation for life is somewhat common, and those galactic viruses work just fine among the flora or fauna of Earth.

wyager 9y ago

> A large portion of that population loss in the Americas was due to diseases brought from Europe. The vast majority was caused by an ill-timed native viral hemorrhagic fever, not European diseases.

jacobolus 9y ago
There were several waves of smallpox, influenza, measles, mumps, typhus, cholera, bubonic plague, tuberculosis, yellow fever, whooping cough, etc., which ran rampant through the Americas, often simultaneously ripping through the same communities. I don’t know what native virus you are referring to (citation?), but it is estimated that in many parts of the Americas population collapsed by about 90% in the course of a century or two (sometimes faster), and the scholarly consensus is that this was largely due to Eurasian diseases to which people had no immunity. The societal collapse brought on by disease also led to internecine war, helping depopulation along. And obviously the numerous instances of genocidal slaughter by Europeans and forced migration later contributed to the final native depopulation of many areas.

anoonmoose 9y ago

Or, a virus finds our environment just barely hospitable enough and adapts like all life does, multiplying like rabbits in Australia.

bdamm 9y ago

Or, we find out that DNA has a common base among the galaxy thanks to panspermia, and that the equation for life is somewhat common, and those galactic viruses work just fine among the flora or fauna of Earth.