Why do cold viruses evolve faster than flu viruses?
Also, what is the mean time of evolution for an average flu virus and the mean time of evolution for an average cold virus?
I hypothesize b/c of the following;
There is a perennial flu vaccine that stops most flus. There is no such thing for cold viruses because they evolve faster.
Posted by Sachin
It is because of the thicker outer protein cover of cold viruses.
Posted by Smeghead
First you're going to have to provide some evidence that cold viruses DO evolve faster than flu viruses. I can think of a lot of reasons off the top of my head why it would be the other way around.
Posted by Nimrod
On what basis do you think that Rhino and Adenoviruses evolve faster?
>>>>I hypothesize b/c of the following;
There is a perennial flu vaccine that stops most flus. There is no such thing for cold viruses because they evolve faster.
Your hypothesis is flawed. You are linking vaccine production to rates of evolution.
Humans make vaccines to influenza because there is a benefit to doing so. Influenza is a much more serious illness than a cold and has a high risk of mortality and morbidity especially in vulnerable populations. Also, there are only a few strains of flu that circulate each season so a vaccine against the 3 most common types will be protective for most of the flu viruses for that season.
There is no cold vaccine because there are over 100 viruses that cause the symptoms of a cold. It would be hard to create a vaccine that offered protection against most of the circulating viruses. And why bother at all when a cold goes away in a week? The cost and risks associated with making and distributing such a vaccine for a cold is not justified by the meager gains in benefit from avoiding a cold.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments! Cold and Flu Basics - Cold and Flu Center - Gocoldflu.info
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