ON AN INTEGRATIVE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE MOLECULAR NATURAL HISTORY OF VIRAL DISEASES

RNA-virus caused diseases pose a challenging problem for a deep epidemiological comprehension due to the trick nature of the population genetics of such viruses and the sometimes obscure host-parasite relationship at the molecular level. In this article, data presented by other authors is reviewed and speculations based on these are depicted in order to search for patterns that could help the understanding of transmissible diseases mechanisms and the prediction of epidemics trends. Elements that connect parasite, host and epidemiology are presented as polarized interactions with negative or positive trends and a model for the emergence of new phenotypes is also presented based on the quasispecies theory. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.17525/vrr.v15i2.44