←back to thread

One universal antiviral to rule them all?

(www.cuimc.columbia.edu)
331 points breve | 3 comments | 26 Aug 25 14:07 UTC | HN request time: 0.712s | source
Show context
mcculley ◴[26 Aug 25 18:38 UTC] No.45030508[source]▶
I always wonder this and maybe people in the comments here know the answer: If humans had the technology to eliminate all viruses on Earth, what would be the outcome? Do viruses keep other bad things in check? Would there be bad consequences if we eliminated all viruses?
replies(11): >>45030523 #>>45030534 #>>45030621 #>>45031827 #>>45032446 #>>45032740 #>>45033011 #>>45034098 #>>45034143 #>>45034265 #>>45034562 #
1. 0xDEAFBEAD ◴[27 Aug 25 00:39 UTC] No.45034098[source]▶
I would be worried about:

* An increase in autoimmune diseases (related to the hygiene hypothesis).

* Decreased resistance to future viral pandemics, since the body wouldn't have practice since childhood in fighting viral disease.

replies(1): >>45034827 #
2. anonymars ◴[27 Aug 25 02:29 UTC] No.45034827[source]▶
On the other hand viral infections themselves can instigate autoimmunity. After all, your body now has to fight your own cells (in contrast to other foreign infection)
replies(1): >>45035342 #
3. 0xDEAFBEAD ◴[27 Aug 25 04:04 UTC] No.45035342[source]▶
Yep, hard to know for sure which way it would go.