Evolution shapes the endemic circulation of viruses:

✅ Mildly infectious viruses might be more likely to persist via antigenic diversification during their longer first epidemic wave.

✅ Despite their short-term benefits, control policies might enhance the long-term circulation of viruses 3/4 👇

Both evolutionary pathways interplay with the contagion dynamics producing:

✅ A shift in the main driver of evolution: from intrinsic selection at the onset of outbreak to antigenic diversification at late epidemic stages.
✅ Universal long-term evolutionary trajectories for different viruses. 2/4 👇

Really happy to see this out in PRX Life! There you can find an eco-evolutionary framework integrating the evolution of viral infectiousness and antigenic features. While the former determines contagion events among hosts, the latter tells us how quickly viruses can escape population immunity 1/4👇