Interestingly enough, a few years ago some scientists hypothesized the lack of selenium in certain parts of China may have contributed to the spread of the SARS

Interestingly enough, a few years ago some scientists hypothesized the lack of selenium in certain parts of China may have contributed to the spread of the SARS 2003 epidemic, since viruses that infect organisms deficient in selenium mutate at much faster rate (although some scientists dispute that). https://www.nature.com/articles/424121a https://www.nature.com/articles/424121a