{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T17:46:25Z","timestamp":1789494385691,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,7]],"date-time":"2024-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1728259200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":280,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Epidemiol. Infect."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n\t  <jats:p>Several recent studies conclude that an increase in the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 cannot be ruled out. However, it should be noted that SARS-CoV-2 is a \u2018direct\u2019 respiratory virus \u2013 meaning it is usually spread by the respiratory route but does not routinely pass through the lymphatics like measles and smallpox. Providing its tropism does not change, it will be unique if its pathogenicity does not decrease until it becomes similar to common cold viruses. Ewald noted in the 1980s that respiratory viruses may evolve mildness because their spread benefits from the mobility of their hosts. This review examines factors that usually lower respiratory viruses\u2019 severity, including heat sensitivity (which limits replication in the warmer lungs) and changes to the virus\u2019s surface proteins. Other factors may, however, increase pathogenicity, such as replication in the lymphatic system and spreading via solid surfaces or faecal matter. Furthermore, human activities and political events could increase the harmfulness of SARS-CoV-2, including the following: large-scale testing, especially when the results are delayed; transmission in settings where people are close together and not free to move around; poor hygiene facilities; and social, political, or cultural influences that encourage sick individuals to remain active, including crises such as wars. If we can avoid these eventualities, SARS-CoV-2 is likely to evolve to be milder, although the timescale is uncertain. Observations of influenza-like pandemics suggest it may take around two decades for COVID-19 to become as mild as seasonal colds.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0950268824001110","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,7]],"date-time":"2024-10-07T05:51:47Z","timestamp":1728280307000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Will COVID-19 become mild, like a cold?"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"152","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0184-4083","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patrick D.","family":"Shaw Stewart","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0950268824001110_r8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10654-020-00698-1"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbc.2021.101151"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/v14102178"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S1464793104006475"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268819000505"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r46","article-title":"Lassa fever","volume":"358","author":"Houlihan","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2023.115975"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.imj.2022.08.005"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/289187a0"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11284-011-0874-8"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/JVI.76.20.10524-10529.2002"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bmb\/62.1.99"},{"key":"S0950268824001110_r14","unstructured":"[14] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2023) Disease factsheet about poliomyelitis. 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