this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2026
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Public Health
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How does this fit in with millions dying from the 'common' cold or flu, or pneumonia, or even COVID?
This graphic is misleading because it's about the chance of dying once you already have the virus. If a virus kills a host, the host is no longer running around spreading the virus (and they are easier to track). So some of the "deadliest" viruses listed here only have 4 deaths, probably because they are too lethal.
The actual "most deadly viruses" are ones that have a relatively low fatality rate per infection, but infect a large number of people.