Since the discovery of the first virus in 1892, the Tobacco mosaic virus, it seems that these harmful pathogens exist only to infect and kill off large percentages of the human population. However, if the world was one day rid of all existing viruses, how good would it actually do?
According to medical experts and virologists, if all types of viruses were to disappear, the world will be in a worse state than it is now. Tony Goldberg, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that 'If all viruses suddenly disappeared, the world would be a wonderful place for about a day and a half, and then we'd all die - that's the bottom line.' Essentially, their place in the world outweighs the bad things, he explained.
Unlike coronavirus and all other types that have plagued the world throughout history, most viruses are not pathogenic to humans. Within the ecosystem, they play integral roles in maintaining the well-being of organisms - all things including flora, fauna, and fungi.
The vast majority of viruses are not pathogenic to humans, and many play integral roles in propping up ecosystems. Others maintain the health of individual organisms - everything from fungi and plants to insects and humans.
Susana Lopez Charretón, a virologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, explained how we live within a balance of perfect equilibrium. 'I think we'd be done without viruses,' she said.
While most virologists study pathogens because of virus outbreaks, a small percentage of these scientists focus on those that keep planet Earth and humans alive. 'It's a small school of scientists who are trying to provide a fair and balanced view of the world of viruses, and to show that there are such things as good viruses,' said Goldberg.
Phages
Viruses that infect bacteria, or phages, have a critical role in ecosystems. 'They are the major predators of the bacterial world,' Goldberg explained. 'We would be in deep trouble without them.'
Without phages, bacterial populations would multiply and upset the underwater microbial balance, which is 90% of all living material in oceans by weight. Microbes produce about 50% of the plant's oxygen, which is enabled by viruses. Phages regulate bacteria populations by killing about 50% of all oceanic bacteria.
Curtis Suttle, an environmental virologist at the University of British Columbia, explained that 'If we don't have death, then we have no life because life is completely dependent on recycling of materials.' As viruses replicate rapidly to decrease populations so that space for other species are created. Without them, competitive species would dominate and hinder other species to thrive, thus harming biodiversity.
Treatment Against Pathogens
Benign viruses can help the human population against harmful pathogens too. For example, GB virus C, or hepatitis G, is a distant relative of the West Nile virus and dengue fever which delays the progression of AIDS. The same non-pathogenic virus can also help Ebola-infected individuals have better chances of survival.
In the 1920s, the Soviet Union experimented with phage therapy, using viruses to target bacterial infections. 'Quite a number of lives have been saved by using viruses when antibiotics have failed,' Suttle said.
There is still so much to be discovered about viruses, beyond pathogens that make humans ill. The bigger picture points to the entire planet, ecosystems, and lives affected by viruses. Suttle said, 'We need to invest some effort in trying to figure out what's out there, just for our own good.'
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