Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
Disease Prevalence and Fatality, Life History Strategies, and Behavioral Control of the COVID Pandemic
Hui Jing Lu1, Xin Rui Wang2, Yuan Yuan Liu2
1Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic caught the world by surprise and raised many questions. One of the questions is whether infectious diseases indeed drive fast life history (LH) as the extent research suggests. This paper challenges this assumption and raises a different perspective. We argue that infectious diseases enact either slower or faster LH strategies and the related disease control behavior depending on disease severity. We tested and supported the theorization based on a sample of 662 adult residents drawn from all 32 provinces and administrative regions of mainland China. The findings help to broaden LH perspectives and to better understand unusual social phenomena arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Steps in Outbreak Investigation
Causality in Epidemiology
Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
Principles of Disease Surveillance
Introduction to Epidemiology

