Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a worldwide pandemic. Many projections concerning the outbreak, such as the estimated number of cases and deaths in upcoming months, have been made available. However, what happens to the virus after the pandemic subsides has not been fully explored. In this article, we discuss the ways that past and present human viruses have emerged via zoonotic transmission, the mechanisms that they have acquired the ability for effective transmission among humans, the process to sustain a chain of transmission to coexist with humans, and the factors important for complete containment leading to eradication of viruses. These aspects of viral disease may provide clues for the future path that SARS-CoV-2 might take in relation to human infection.

严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 已成为全球流行病。有关疫情爆发的许多预测，例如未来几个月的估计病例数和死亡人数，均已公布。然而，大流行消退后病毒会发生什么尚未得到充分探讨。在本文中，我们将讨论过去和现在的人类病毒通过人畜共患传播的方式、它们获得人际间有效传播能力的机制、维持传播链与人类共存的过程以及影响因素对于彻底遏制病毒并消灭病毒非常重要。病毒性疾病的这些方面可能为 SARS-CoV-2 与人类感染相关的未来路径提供线索。