Re:Omicron variant was 73% of U.S. covid cases last week
by bruce511 on Tuesday December 21, 2021 @03:17AM
(#29635161)
I'm not a doctor but I belive the Black Death is bubonic plague, a bacterium. While yes that will evolve as well, the natural selection on bacteria happens on a very different time scale to a virus.
And hoping not to start a thread on antibiotics and superbugs, but bacteria do naturally select as well.
The Spanish Flu followed a similar path to Covid, it started deadly but then naturally selected to become less deadly. Its also somewhat unusual because of the numbers of displaced persons at the time returning home, the lack of basic medical knowledge etc.
But here's my point. The Spanish flu has mutated now to be basically Flu. It's not "deadly" anymore (for some definition of deadly). Non deadly mutations naturally select over deadly mutations.
And hoping not to start a thread on antibiotics and superbugs, but bacteria do naturally select as well.
The Spanish Flu followed a similar path to Covid, it started deadly but then naturally selected to become less deadly. Its also somewhat unusual because of the numbers of displaced persons at the time returning home, the lack of basic medical knowledge etc.
But here's my point. The Spanish flu has mutated now to be basically Flu. It's not "deadly" anymore (for some definition of deadly). Non deadly mutations naturally select over deadly mutations.