"Strawberries have a "life" of only a few years, they tend to get viruses of various sorts that slowly reduces their production. Eventually having to be replaced. Runners from the main plant will also carry any virus.
Fruits should not come in contact with the soil as they are eaten by many little creatures and will get several fungus's as well that will rot the fruit."
I'm curious as to where this information was found/learned?
Strawberries are a short term perennial, 3 years is their maximum lifespan for fruit production. Nothing to do with viruses, fungi or critters. The first year plant may or may not fruit as it is newly developed. The 2nd year of that plant is the main production time and runners are sent out. The 3rd year is a reduced production with more runners sent out before the parent plant basically bites the dust. The reason the plant sends out runners is that strawberries are shallow rooted feeders and by their 2nd year, the plant has depleted most available nutrition in that spot, so fruit production decreases so new runners can be sent out into new 'food zones' to continue the lifespan. By year 3, the aging parent plant has exhausted it's food supply and life and will die off. Despite our attempts at side feeding, we cannot stop this cycle.
Viruses will sometimes destroy strawberry plants, but strawberries are very tough plants, sometimes leafing out early in snow, so its not common to find infected plants. Pests, yes, but rarely viruses.
As for fruit rotting, yes, touching the soil can rot the berries but usually because the soil is damp which transfers fungus to the berries. More often, lots of rainfall will swell the berries making them softer and more readily prone to fungal attacks and faster rotting.