A disease that has infected 50% of a host or more would most likely kill it rapidly, and a disease slowly killing the host can allow the host to survive as long as the infection. We could be dying as a species, or, as we already know, have a contagion slowly crippling us, devouring our existence unseen until its too late. [spoiler]dark shit, but it seems hope is simply ignoring the issues at this point.[/spoiler]