The Dangerous Side of Evolutionary Change...

[Chas]

It's also possible that it could reemerge in a form that's far less deadly. In fact, I think that's actually pretty likely. Evolutionarly speaking, pathogens that are most successful aren't the ones that kill the most people; they're the ones who are spread quietly with little to no symptoms.

That's the coin flip, Tara. Yes. It could be less deadly or more deadly and we won't know until it happens.

Far worse though is that unlike in Justinian's time or the Black Death's time, we now have a marvelously developed international air travel web to spread diseases far more quickly.

On the other hand, we have better public health knowledge and systems - sanitation, isolation, diet, etc. that help contain the spread of diseases.

Might be a wash.