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Evolutionary pressure selects for survival, however the "less likely to kill" is entirely your assumption. Case in point – the second wave of the Spanish flu w

Evolutionary pressure selects for survival, however the "less likely to kill" is entirely your assumption. Case in point – the second wave of the Spanish flu was much deadlier than the first wave. And the third wave was less deadly than the second, but still more deadly than the first wave. If the virus infects hosts efficiently, and this one does, no, it will not have evolutionary pressure to be milder.

CWuestefeld 6y ago
Evolutionary pressure selects for survival, however the "less likely to kill" is entirely your assumption. No. For example: https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/could-covid-19-weaken-over-time-local-microbiologist-weighs-in/article_dffaa0ea-a9c7-11ea-936b-f3747ca78635.html https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/could-covid-19-weaken-o... Two Italian doctors claim they are increasingly seeing weaker and less deadly cases of COVID-19 in the country. Hamilton said it's not uncommon for a virus to become less pathogenic as time goes on. “Over time they become less dangerous or less virulent because they just want to live in you and replicate in you,” she said. Hamilton said viruses, in general, are trying to pass on their genetic material. “In some pathogens, it’s actually better if they don’t kill you because if you’re still alive, you’re more likely to spread them around,” she said. This is why she said some of the most successful viruses raise the fewest red flags “Things like head colds or warts,” she said.
- bad_user 6y ago
  Yes, still an assumption. It's like saying evolution selects for intelligence, which would be silly because no, it doesn't, even if it happened for a couple of species. If the virus transmits efficiently, having a high enough R0, it has no pressure to evolve to something milder. SARS-Cov-1 lacked the contagious pre-symptomatic period. Note how SARS-Cov-2 keeps going strong despite the worst restrictions we've seen in our lifetime.

CWuestefeld 6y ago

Evolutionary pressure selects for survival, however the "less likely to kill" is entirely your assumption. No. For example: https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/could-covid-19-weaken-over-time-local-microbiologist-weighs-in/article_dffaa0ea-a9c7-11ea-936b-f3747ca78635.html https://www.westernmassnews.com/news/could-covid-19-weaken-o... Two Italian doctors claim they are increasingly seeing weaker and less deadly cases of COVID-19 in the country. Hamilton said it's not uncommon for a virus to become less pathogenic as time goes on. “Over time they become less dangerous or less virulent because they just want to live in you and replicate in you,” she said. Hamilton said viruses, in general, are trying to pass on their genetic material. “In some pathogens, it’s actually better if they don’t kill you because if you’re still alive, you’re more likely to spread them around,” she said. This is why she said some of the most successful viruses raise the fewest red flags “Things like head colds or warts,” she said.

bad_user 6y ago
Yes, still an assumption. It's like saying evolution selects for intelligence, which would be silly because no, it doesn't, even if it happened for a couple of species. If the virus transmits efficiently, having a high enough R0, it has no pressure to evolve to something milder. SARS-Cov-1 lacked the contagious pre-symptomatic period. Note how SARS-Cov-2 keeps going strong despite the worst restrictions we've seen in our lifetime.