Researchers at Princeton University looked at the evolutionary strategies that pathogens employ to spread through a population and found that symptomless transmission, a tactic employed by the virus that causes COVID-19, can be a successful strategy for spread through the population.
Image courtesy of Chadi Saad-Roy, Princeton University
COVID-19′s silent spread: Princeton researchers explore how symptomless transmission helps pathogens thrive
Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research, May 12, 2020
COVID-19′s rapid spread throughout the world has been fueled in part by the virus’ ability to be transmitted by people who are not showing symptoms of infection.
Now, a study by researchers at Princeton has found that this silent phase of transmission can be a successful evolutionary strategy for pathogens such as viruses like the one that causes COVID-19. The study was published May 8 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.