• Question: what is the worst type of virus in history?

    Asked by anon-185980 to Danny on 6 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Danny Ward

      Danny Ward answered on 6 Nov 2018:

      The deadliest virus we have faced is the Marburg virus. While it hasn’t infected the most people (that would be some like a common cold caused by a type of rhinovirus), those who are infected often have a very low chance of survival. Outbreaks happen every few years in parts of Africa and affect a small handful of people to a few hundred but most usually don’t survive.

Comments

  • Photo: Verity

    Verity commented on :

    You could also consider the Spanish flu of 1918 as the worst virus we have seen! It infected a lot of people across the world, and killed about 120 million, or 5% of the world’s population at the time.