{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T02:41:41Z","timestamp":1760928101559,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Pasifika Medical Association Group","issue":"1624","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["NZMJ"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This review explores COVID-19 (coronavirus disease of 2019) from the perspective of Darwinian natural selection and consequent\nevolution of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2). COVID-19 has caused unprecedented societal and economic\nturmoil. The human host population has responded with widespread vaccination, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, convalescent\nplasma and antiviral drugs. SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated remarkable resilience and has been able to quickly adapt to its rapidly changing\nhabitat. SARS-CoV-2 has generated new antibody and vaccine evasive mutations in its genome, while simultaneously optimising\nits infectivity by improving its affinity to the ACE2 receptor and host proteases. Molecular analysis of SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated\nnatural selection of advantageous mutations in both individual patients with chronic COVID-19 infection and at a host population level,\nleading to extinction of less fit strains. COVID-19 is living proof of Darwinian evolution, which is occurring in observable time rather than\nover millions of years. Viewing COVID-19 from an evolutionary perspective will help mitigate the current and future pandemics. The\naim of this article is to illustrate these concepts, using examples from the human host peer-reviewed literature.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.26635\/6965.7039","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T02:00:12Z","timestamp":1760925612000},"page":"65-75","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["COVID-19 is a living example of Darwinian natural selection, and SARS-CoV-2 evolution is occurring under (and in) our noses"],"prefix":"10.26635","volume":"138","author":[{"given":"Rohan","family":"Ameratunga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Euphemia","family":"Leung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"See-Tarn","family":"Woon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Edward","family":"Lea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lydia","family":"Chan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"James","family":"Mehrtens","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hilary","family":"Longhurst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Richard","family":"Steele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Klaus","family":"Lehnert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"11177","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]]},"container-title":["New Zealand Medical Journal"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,20]],"date-time":"2025-10-20T02:00:16Z","timestamp":1760925616000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/nzmj.org.nz\/journal\/vol-138-no-1624\/covid-19-is-a-living-example-of-darwinian-natural-selection-and-sars-cov-2-evolution-is-occurring-under-and-in-our-noses"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1624","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.26635\/6965.7039","relation":{},"ISSN":["1175-8716"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1175-8716","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,24]]}}}