Melting frozen soils could “revive” old pandemics

Center Russian State Research Center in Virology and Biotechnology Vektor, one of those working on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19, announced that he intends to investigate old viruses – called “paleoviruses” or “viral fossils” – found under the ice in remote areas.

The Siberian lab will focus on finding viruses in animal remains that are scavenged when permafrost – ground that remains frozen above ground – thaws. Thus, new pandemics could emerge from the depths.

With melting ice, in addition to Paleolithic animals, also viruses and bacteria were sleeping and that, once thawed, they could release spores and re-enter the food chain.

The investigation of Vektor – one of only two facilities in the world to store the smallpox virus, extinct three decades ago – with Yatutsk University, started with the analysis of tissue extracted from a prehistoric horse 4,500 years ago. The remains were found in Yakutia, a region of Siberia, where remains of mammoths and other prehistoric animals have been found.

Maxim Cheprasov, head of the Yakutsk University Mammoth Museum laboratory, said that although they have studied these animals in the past, “for the first time we are conducting studies on paleoviruses.”

A little background

In 2015, the news alarmed the world: Anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, killed a child and led to the hospitalization of dozens of people in Siberia. In addition, around 2,000 reindeer died from the same cause.

Experts then said the most likely cause was melting permafrost. According to the Russian authorities, the disappearance of these frozen soils ended up releasing spores of this bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which re-entered the food chain after more than 75 years without an epidemic.

“Why has this disease returned? The answer is the climate, ”said Victor Maleev, deputy director of the Moscow Central Institute for Epidemiological Research. “These ancient animal burial sites can be dangerous even 100 years later.”

In 2014 and 2015, Claverie and Chantal Abergel published a study on two 30,000-year-old viruses found in Siberian permafrost. The researchers’ discovery was to prove its infectious capacity. Although these viruses infect only amoeba, their action may indicate that other frozen viruses infecting humans – such as the 1918 Spanish Flu or smallpox – could be reactivated.

In Claverie’s words, “There is evidence that Neanderthals and Denisovans inhabited northern Siberia and suffered from various viral diseases; some known, like smallpox, and others that could have disappeared ”.

“The fact that an infection that plagued ancient hominids may continue among us today is both fascinating and disturbing.“Said the researcher, as published in Scientific American magazine.

Other scientists say it would be very rare for other viruses found under permafrost to infect humans, although they also warn that it will depend on the pathogen. Some could survive for thousands of years.

The risks of permafrost melting

Permafrost is the permanently frozen layer of soil in very cold regions of the planet. Mainly, they are present in the northern hemisphere, in areas close to the Arctic such as Norway, Siberia, Tibet, Canada and Alaska.

It is estimated that permafrost covers about 20% of the Earth’s surface. However, rising global temperatures are melting these frozen soils at high speed, exposing animals and other finds.

In June 2020, the Arctic reached a temperature of 38 ° C, the highest on record. According to the World Meteorological Organization, arctic ice is warming twice as fast as the global average, releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

Melting permafrost also produces soil instability, sea level rise and impacts on the life of flora and fauna.

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