The group selection of variola minor in the Americas: an anthroponootic analogue for the myxomatosis epizootic in Australia.
It is an axiom of many parasitology texts that host-parasite systems coevolve toward a state approximating commensalism. While this hypothesis has an apriori intuitive appeal there is little empirical evidence to support it. The only documented case of a parasite evolving toward avirulence is the group selection of less virulent strains of the myxoma virus in the Australian rabbit population. It is hypothesized here that group selection also accounted for the appearance of variola minor in the Americas.
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D000569:Americas; D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009234:Myxomatosis, Infectious / Q000235:genetics / Q000266:history*; D011817:Rabbits; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012899:Smallpox / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history