Since the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, scientists have been keeping a close eye out for the next possible pandemic. Remarkably, many now think it might come from one of the coldest, most isolated locations on Earth—the Arctic—rather than from a busy metropolis or animal market.
As climate change intensifies, glaciers and permafrost in the Arctic are melting at previously unheard-of speeds. Not only is water being released by this melting, but it is also bringing back ancient bacteria that have been dormant for tens of millions of years. Researchers refer to these microbes, which have laid dormant in soil and ice, as “zombie viruses” because they reawaken when temperatures rise.
Some of these ancient living forms have actually been brought back to life.
A number of ancient viruses have been successfully resurrected from permafrost samples in recent years, which has both fascinated and alarmed experts. These include the enormous virus Pithovirus sibericum, which was discovered in 30,000-year-old Siberian permafrost and was brought back to life in a French laboratory in 2014. Another famous example is Pacmanvirus lupus, which was recovered from the frozen remains of a 27,000-year-old wolf and similarly resurrected under controlled laboratory settings. More than 1,700 viruses were found in 2023 by researchers studying a Chinese glacier, many of which had never been before identified.
Although these viruses were brought back to life in laboratories and do not yet directly endanger human health, their ability to persist and perhaps reawaken is a warning sign. The question now isn’t whether ancient germs can reappear, but rather, how ready are we in case they do?
This goes beyond science fiction. Anthrax-infected reindeer carcasses thawed from Siberian permafrost in 2016, sparking a fatal outbreak. There were nearly 2,000 reindeer killed, hundreds hospitalized, and one child killed. For more than seventy-five years, the frozen body had been buried. It served as a clear reminder that infections wait rather than perish with time.
A number of important aspects that make this Arctic threat particularly dangerous are causing scientists to become more and more concerned. Not all of our immune systems are prepared. These viruses either predate or were active long before the development of contemporary immune systems. We might have no biological protection. Between animals and people, they could leap. A lot of pandemics, like COVID-19, start this way, which is called zoonotic transmission.
Animals in the Arctic may unintentionally harbor resurrected diseases. The Arctic is not ready either. Due to the lack of adequate healthcare infrastructure, a disease outbreak in this isolated area can go undiscovered until it spreads throughout the world. Basically, what occurs in the Arctic doesn’t remain there. A localized epidemic might round the world in a matter of days if it is not promptly contained, as international travel and trade are still close to pre-pandemic levels.
Global health groups and governments are being urged by researchers to take this issue seriously. Funding research on Arctic microbiology, keeping an eye out for indications of new infections in permafrost areas, and preparing healthcare systems for illnesses with unknown profiles are all examples of this. There is yet another pressing need to address climate change, not only for the sake of polar bears or sea level rise, but also for the sake of public health worldwide. Not only does each degree of warming alter the landscape, but it may also bring back long-forgotten dangers.
It may seem unreal to think of ancient viruses coming back from ice in a world still recovering from COVID-19. However, scientists are certain that this scenario is based on facts, not fantasy. And the risk becomes more real with every glacier that melts.
