Humans like to think of themselves as the dominant force of the life of the planet,
but stepping into the Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World exhibit, makes you
reconsider that perspective. The more of the planet humans take over, the more we
inadvertently make it a viral paradise. Viruses have a straightforward mission:
reproduction. The constant copying eventually destroys so many cells, and the virus's
host will fall ill. As viruses copy themselves using the machinery of their host's cells,
they constantly mutate, enabling the virus to spread faster or infect a new type of host.
Thanks to mutations, there are over 200 "zoonotic" viruses that can jump between
animals and humans. As the global population increases, more of us are moving to
cities, creating fantastic opportunities for viruses to jump from host to host. Other
factors have contributed to viruses' success. The sudden explosion of global travel due
to the World War I, for example, played a huge role in the spread of the 1918 flu. In
more rec3ent history, the 2002 SARS-virus outbreak, which had the highest death toll
since the 1960s, moved via airplanes from China to North America, Europe, and
Australia, sickening over 8,000 individuals in less than a year. Additionally, the
expanding reach of warmer weather resulting from climate change produces more
ideal conditions for disease vectors, like mosquitos. Walking through the hall of the
exhibit, it's easy to feel defeated by these microscopic villains. But actually the
viruses most dangerous to humans end up shooting themselves in their microbial
"feet": They kill their hosts so quickly that there isn't enough time for them to find
another. The smartest viruses tend to be the most benign. They infect huge swaths
of the population, and yet rarely cause medical complications, making them undeserving
of any kind of memorialized warning in a museum. But that's not to say these long-lived
viruses won't find a way to be both durable and devastating. As we flourish, we have to
remember: our success is also a win for the pathogens capable of killing us.