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Viruses engineered to kill people do not spread as fast. It needs a host, a living one to be able to spread effectively unless you bomb a whole country at once
by fermienrico 6y ago
Viruses engineered to kill people do not spread as fast. It needs a host, a living one to be able to spread effectively unless you bomb a whole country at once with bio-bombs. You might as well use nuclear weapons then. Ebola has a very high death rate but doesn't spread as fast. A virus doesn't have some internal goal to kill humans. It'd rather not kill the host, it'd rather spread as far and wide as it can; speaking from the evolutionary standpoint.
A well engineered bioweapon would be a virus that goes undetected for a few months and then happens to kill the host due to complications. That can wipe out an entire country or possibly the whole human race. I don't think this is possible biologically.
- generalizations 6y ago> Viruses engineered to kill people do not spread as fast. It needs a host, a living one to be able to spread effectively... All it needs is a long period when the host is contagious and asymptomatic. That way it spreads easily before killing the host.
- fermienrico 6y agoThat's what I said in the second bit: > A well engineered bioweapon would be a virus that goes undetected for a few months and then happens to kill the host due to complications. That can wipe out an entire country or possibly the whole human race. I don't think this is possible biologically. "Killing the host" is not some natural thing that happens with Viruses. It's a complex process of immune system + dosage. It's not like virus has any evolutionary interest in demobilizing the host. It goes against the evolutionary pressure. That's why I said "happens to kill the host", due to complications.