Social Groups and Social Group Immunology: A Literature Review

Abstract

Social groups are a common phenomenon among animal species including humans. While there are many evolutionary advantages to this, there is also the increased risk of infection due to being in close proximity to other individuals. Thus, this paper looked at the possibility that social grouping might be evolutionarily unfavorable from an immunological stand point on the basis that individuals would be closely related, have similar immune systems, and therefore risk widespread infection in a community with the introduction by a single pathogen.