The dominance of Omicron in the community is now confirmed by the measurements in the sewage of Thessaloniki, with this super-transmissible strain today representing 90% of the viral load of the deadly virus in Greece
The dominance of Omicron in the community is now confirmed by the measurements in the sewage of Thessaloniki, with this super-transmissible strain today representing 90% of the viral load of the deadly virus in Greece
As evidence mounts that the omicron variant is less deadly than prior COVID-19 strains, one oft-cited explanation is that viruses always evolve to become less virulent over time.
fotograzia/Getty Images(NEW YORK) As evidence mounts that the omicron variant is less deadly than prior COVID-19 strains, one oft-cited explanation is that viruses always evolve to become less virulent over time. The problem, experts say, is that this theory has been soundly debunked. The idea that infections tend to become less lethal over time was first proposed by notable bacteriologist Dr. Theobald Smith in the late 1800s. His theory about pathogen evolution was later dubbed the "law of declining virulence." Simple and elegant, Smith's theory was that to ensure their own survival, pathogens evolve to stop killing their human hosts. Instead, they create only a mild infection, allowing people to walk around, spreading the virus further afield. Good for the virus, and, arguably, good for us. But over the past 100 years, virologists have learned that virus evolution is more chaotic. Virus evolution is a game of chance, and less about grand design. In some cases, viruse