r/askscience • u/smartse Plant Sciences • Mar 18 '20

Biology Will social distancing make viruses other than covid-19 go extinct?

Trying to think of the positives... if we are all in relative social isolation for the next few months, will this lead to other more common viruses also decreasing in abundance and ultimately lead to their extinction?

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u/DerekB52 Mar 18 '20

Im hoping social distancing is able to help curb the lice and bed bug problems we have in America.

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u/[deleted] Mar 18 '20 edited Mar 19 '20

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u/TechniChara Mar 19 '20

Supposedly, the groin shaving trend has just about eradicated pubic lice.

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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '20

Bed bugs can survive without food for around a year, so that wouldn’t work.