Virologists evaluated the chances of complete disappearance of the coronavirus

The coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic will most likely not disappear from the human population, virologists told RBC Trends. He certainly mutates, but it’s difficult to predict now which way and with what consequences. The most likely option is that the virus will become less dangerous for humans, but along with this assumption it is necessary to keep in mind the serious threats that its spread in the world carries.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Virologist, Professor at the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N.F. Gamalei of the Ministry of Health of Russia Anatoly Altstein believes that the chances of the virus disappearing from the population are small, since SARS-CoV-2 is well adapted to the human body.

“I don’t think that he will leave us: he adapted very well to people, reproduces well in human cells, and easily infects us. Why would he go somewhere? According to my forecast, in a year or two he will join a cohort of quite numerous viruses that cause respiratory diseases in our country, ”Altstein explained.

He added that usually the evolution of viruses goes in the direction of reducing their pathogenicity. “Evolutionary variants of viruses are selected that should infect people well, infect very effectively, but not kill at the same time. This is a well-known pattern in general for many infectious diseases, ”said the professor. Altstein added that it’s difficult to predict the future of the virus reliably. “But still I hope that it will not be so terribly variable in its antigenic properties. I think he should weaken his temper. It’s unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 will become so peaceful, but it shouldn’t be so deadly anymore. ”

It is already known that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted to animals, which means that it “will inevitably begin to spread in the wild, evolve and return to the human population again and again. This must be taken into account now, ”the scientist warned.