If reproduction of itself is why pathogens infect hosts, wouldn’t it be best for them to infect and keep the host alive rather than causing death? Do they just reproduce too much and kill the host without understanding that it would result in the host dying and themselves with it?
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>Do they just reproduce too much and kill the host without understanding
that it would result in the host dying and themselves with it?
They don’t understand anything, they’re not sentient.
They’re not trying to kill you, they’re just spreading. Turns out for a lot of microorganisms, the symptoms of them spreading will kill you.
And of course, in terms of evolution, it doesn’t matter if the pathogen kills you *after* you’ve already spread it.
But yes, there’s a reason the most deadly viruses don’t tend to spread as much as the less deadly ones. If a virus makes someone vomit blood and then die within a few days, people are going to stay away from them and it won’t spread very far.
If most people aren’t heavily affected by a virus, they’ll keep spreading it around. Even better if it’s mild enough that they carry on their day to day lives.
But they’re not intelligent. They can’t choose to do this.
>Do they just reproduce too much and kill the host without understanding
that it would result in the host dying and themselves with it?
They don’t understand anything, they’re not sentient.
They’re not trying to kill you, they’re just spreading. Turns out for a lot of microorganisms, the symptoms of them spreading will kill you.
And of course, in terms of evolution, it doesn’t matter if the pathogen kills you *after* you’ve already spread it.
But yes, there’s a reason the most deadly viruses don’t tend to spread as much as the less deadly ones. If a virus makes someone vomit blood and then die within a few days, people are going to stay away from them and it won’t spread very far.
If most people aren’t heavily affected by a virus, they’ll keep spreading it around. Even better if it’s mild enough that they carry on their day to day lives.
But they’re not intelligent. They can’t choose to do this.
A pathogen is, by definition, a microorganism that can cause disease. If a microorganism manages to survive inside a host without causing issues for itself or the host, it becomes a part of the host’s microbiome. Microorganisms have no agenda or plan, it’s down to genetic luck whether it becomes destructive, symbiotic, or something else entirely.
A pathogen is, by definition, a microorganism that can cause disease. If a microorganism manages to survive inside a host without causing issues for itself or the host, it becomes a part of the host’s microbiome. Microorganisms have no agenda or plan, it’s down to genetic luck whether it becomes destructive, symbiotic, or something else entirely.
A pathogen is, by definition, a microorganism that can cause disease. If a microorganism manages to survive inside a host without causing issues for itself or the host, it becomes a part of the host’s microbiome. Microorganisms have no agenda or plan, it’s down to genetic luck whether it becomes destructive, symbiotic, or something else entirely.
Pathogens are, by definition, causing damage. If it didn’t cause issues they would be commensal, mutualist, or symbiotic. Plenty of microbes have these other types of relationships.
Pathogens are, by definition, causing damage. If it didn’t cause issues they would be commensal, mutualist, or symbiotic. Plenty of microbes have these other types of relationships.
Pathogens are, by definition, causing damage. If it didn’t cause issues they would be commensal, mutualist, or symbiotic. Plenty of microbes have these other types of relationships.
Most human-adapted pathogens usually don’t kill the host; they evolved to use the host to reproduce without killing it. Those that do kill the host usually jumped from another species and managed to survive in humans to spread (like tuberculosis coming over from cows). The pathogen does what would just make a cow sick but happens to kill a human. If there is enough of a human population that doesn’t die and can pass it on for long enough, the pathogen will eventually adapt to kill humans less and less as the mutations that survive longer can get passed on easier. This is why the 1918 influenza, which killed 50-100 million people (about 1-2% of the infected healthy adults) has mutated into the modern ‘flu’ which will kill less than 0.05% of healthy adults.
Most human-adapted pathogens usually don’t kill the host; they evolved to use the host to reproduce without killing it. Those that do kill the host usually jumped from another species and managed to survive in humans to spread (like tuberculosis coming over from cows). The pathogen does what would just make a cow sick but happens to kill a human. If there is enough of a human population that doesn’t die and can pass it on for long enough, the pathogen will eventually adapt to kill humans less and less as the mutations that survive longer can get passed on easier. This is why the 1918 influenza, which killed 50-100 million people (about 1-2% of the infected healthy adults) has mutated into the modern ‘flu’ which will kill less than 0.05% of healthy adults.
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