Scientists warned that the melting of the North Pole could release viruses “Zombie” with the potential to trigger a new pandemic.
Melting ice from Arctic could lead to a new pandemic, say shutterstock photo researchers
These so-called “matusalem microbe” can remain latent in the soil and in the bodies of frozen animals for tens of thousands of years. But as the climate warms up and Permafrost is thawed, scientists are now worried that ancient diseases could infect people, reports the Daily Mail.
The study co-author, Dr. Khaled Abass, from the University of Sharjah, says: “Climatic changes not only melt the ice – they melt the barriers between ecosystems, animals and people. Defrosting Permafrost could even release ancient bacteria or viruses that have been frozen for thousands of years.”
For over a decade, scientists have known that bacteria and frozen viruses in the Arctic could still have the potential to infect living organisms.
In 2014, scientists have isolated viruses from the Siberian permafrost and showed that they can still infect living cells, even if they have been frozen for thousands of years. Similarly, in 2023, scientists managed to revive a virus that had been frozen for 48,500 years.
The risks are not limited to permafrost
However, the risks are not limited to the regions of Permafrost, because the pathogens can also be found in large ice masses, such as glaciers.
Last year, scientists found 1,700 ancient viruses deeply hidden in a western china glacier, most of which had never been seen before. These viruses date up to 41,000 years old and have survived three major changes from cold climate to hot climate.
Although they are harmless as long as they are buried in Permafrost, the great concern of climatologists is that they may not remain so long.
When the ice or permafrost are disturbed or melted, any microb inside is released into the environment – many of them can be dangerous.
For example, the researchers discovered an ancient variant of the African Pork Febra virus, Pacmanvirus Lupus, found in the intestine of a 27,000 -year -old Siberian wolf. Although he had been frozen since the middle of the middle stone, this virus was still able to infect and kill Amibea in the laboratory.
Scientists estimate that four sextile – meaning four followed by 21 zeros – of cells escape from Permafrost every year, at current rates. Although researchers estimate that only one in 100 ancient pathogens could disrupt the ecosystem, the huge volume of microbes that escape makes a dangerous incident more likely.
Risk of pandemic
In 2016, for example, anthrax spores escaped from an animal housing that had been frozen in the Siberian permafrost for 75 years, leaving dozens of hospitalized people and a dead child.
However, the higher risk is that the disease becomes established in the population of animals, where contact with humans causes the disease to reach more easily as a disease “Zoonotic”.
According to the researchers, about three quarters of all known human infections are zoonotic, including those found in the Arctic. If a zoonotic disease would occur from a latent state in the frozen arctic, our bodies may not have the defense needed to fight the infection.
This type of infection could lead to a very dangerous and difficult to control pandemic.
Dr. Abbas says: “Climatic changes and pollution affect both the health of the animals and the humans – our research analyzed how these two forces are interconnected. As the Arctic heats up faster than the other parts of the world, we observe changes in the environment – such as melting permafrost and changing ecosystems – which could help.”
The researchers warn that the Arctic regions are a very dangerous starting point for a pandemic, given that the region has such a limited medical infrastructure.
Health and research services are limited, which means that a disease could spread widely before the authorities have the chance to react.
Already, researchers point out that zoonotic diseases, such as Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever and toxoplasma gondii parasite, have already spread in the Arctic regions.
Dr. Abbas warns that what is happening in the Arctic “It does not remain in the Arctic.”
“The ecological stressors I studied have wave effects that reach far beyond the polar regions.”
What is permafrost and what happens if melting
Permafrost is a permanent frozen layer under the surface of the Earth, encountered in the Arctic regions, such as Alaska, Siberia and Canada.
It usually consists of soil, gravel and sand tied together with ice and is classified as soil that has remained under 0 ° C for at least two years.
It is estimated that 1,500 billion tonnes of carbon are stored in the world – twice as much as the quantity found in the atmosphere.
If the global warming would melt the permafrost of the world, could release thousands of tons of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere.
