Viruses evolve as a result of mutation (misincorporations, insertions or deletions, and recombination) and natural selection for favorable traits such as more efficient viral replication, transmission, and evasion of host defenses. Newly selected traits may be linked in unpredictable ways and raise concern that virus spread and evolution could result in greater virulence (disease severity). The limited diversity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reported during ...

Viruses evolve as a result of mutation (misincorporations, insertions or deletions, and recombination) and natural selection for favorable traits such as more efficient viral replication, transmission, and evasion of host defenses. Newly selected traits may be linked in unpredictable ways and raise concern that virus spread and evolution could result in greater virulence (disease severity). The limited diversity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reported during ...