Global warming, which is causing Arctic ice caps to melt, could trigger the re-emergence of “zombie viruses”—viruses that have been frozen for millions of years. Scientists say that in permafrost – the subsoil layer of the earth’s crust that constantly freezes – there may be viruses that can trigger an outbreak of an ancient disease.
The report says several scientists have begun planning to create an Arctic monitoring network that could detect the first cases of diseases caused by ancient microorganisms. The keeper. The goal is to contain the first cases and eradicate the disease, preventing it from infecting the rest of the world.
“There are viruses there that can infect people and cause a new outbreak of the disease,” said geneticist Jean-Michel Claverie from the University of Aix-Marseille. The keeper.
Over the years, several studies have been conducted to try to understand what types of viruses may be present in permafrost and what organisms they may infect. Last year, the team identified the existence of viral strains in seven locations in Siberia. One of the viruses was 48,500 years old.
But it’s not just global warming and thawing permafrost that pose the risk of zombie viruses. According to the geneticist, the development of industry in Siberia will increase the development of subsoil, which “will release a large number of pathogens that are still thriving there. The miners will come and inhale the viruses,” the geneticist says. The keeper.