eli5 if everyone with a certain disease died, would that disease cease to exist?

Question

Say influenza, if tomorrow, everyone with influenza spontaneously died, would the disease cease to exist?

In: 6

Answer 1

Not necessarily. A disease could have a reservoir in non-human animals (influenza for instance can be spread by pigs and birds) or the pathogens might be able to survive dormant in the environment.

In other words, it depends on the disease.