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It's because he is looking long term. Once you eradicate polio then it's gone forever. If he stops now to save more children from malaria instead then polio wil

It's because he is looking long term. Once you eradicate polio then it's gone forever. If he stops now to save more children from malaria instead then polio will return and the work so far wasted.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago
Could a disease (I just read it's a virus, til) like polio "spontaneously" reform or re-evolve if it's eradicated completely?
- skinkestek 6y ago
  No. Once all "blueprints" of a disease (its RNA or DNA) is gone it is gone. In a worst case nature comes up with a similar one by mutating something similar, but then it is still a new thing.
- ClumsyPilot 6y ago
  Well, the dodo bird hasn't re-elolved yet, and beither did smallpox.
- gus_massa 6y ago
  The evolution of exactly the same illness is difficult[1]. Polio is an Enterovirus[2]. There are many virus in that family, and most of them cause only a mild stomachache and fever. A week later you forget that you where ill. Moreover, in the 95% of the case the Polio virus only cause the same symptoms instead of the paralysis. One of the other virus can evolve and start to cause an illness that is very similar to Polio and we can decide to call it Polio, or PolioII, or some acronym like SPGWSPLI or something like that[3]. Nobody is sure about the cause of Acute flaccid myelitis [4], but it is somewhat similar to Polio and it is probably caused by an Enterovirus too. If something like that cause a big outbreak, we will hopefully make a vaccine and eradicate it too. [1] Where "difficult" means "almost impossible, but there is a chance". [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterovirus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterovirus [3] Old illness have cool names. I hope we can eradicate them all, but they have cool names like "Cholera". New illness get a bland acronym. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_flaccid_myelitis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_flaccid_myelitis

It's because he is looking long term. Once you eradicate polio then it's gone forever. If he stops now to save more children from malaria instead then polio will return and the work so far wasted.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

Could a disease (I just read it's a virus, til) like polio "spontaneously" reform or re-evolve if it's eradicated completely?

skinkestek 6y ago
No. Once all "blueprints" of a disease (its RNA or DNA) is gone it is gone. In a worst case nature comes up with a similar one by mutating something similar, but then it is still a new thing.
ClumsyPilot 6y ago
Well, the dodo bird hasn't re-elolved yet, and beither did smallpox.
gus_massa 6y ago
The evolution of exactly the same illness is difficult[1]. Polio is an Enterovirus[2]. There are many virus in that family, and most of them cause only a mild stomachache and fever. A week later you forget that you where ill. Moreover, in the 95% of the case the Polio virus only cause the same symptoms instead of the paralysis. One of the other virus can evolve and start to cause an illness that is very similar to Polio and we can decide to call it Polio, or PolioII, or some acronym like SPGWSPLI or something like that[3]. Nobody is sure about the cause of Acute flaccid myelitis [4], but it is somewhat similar to Polio and it is probably caused by an Enterovirus too. If something like that cause a big outbreak, we will hopefully make a vaccine and eradicate it too. [1] Where "difficult" means "almost impossible, but there is a chance". [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterovirus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterovirus [3] Old illness have cool names. I hope we can eradicate them all, but they have cool names like "Cholera". New illness get a bland acronym. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_flaccid_myelitis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_flaccid_myelitis