The ancient permafrost virus methuselah microbes, or zombie virus have recently been isolated from the Arctic by scientists and suspected to cause a major disease outbreak due to global warming.
Scientists are calling for attention to viruses that originate in the North, as prior analysis of pandemic threats have focused on diseases spreading from South. Many scientists also believe that there's an increasing risk to permafrost virus outbreaks as global warming progresses. Although some viral strains isolated from Siberia has only been shown to affect single celled organisms like amoeba, much is unknown about the infectivity of other viruses.
Indeed, geneticist Jean-Michel Claverie fo Aix-Marseille University cautioned that genomic traces of human pathogens, for example poxviruses and herpes viruses have been found. Yet the question remains whether the genetic remains of these viruses still retain pathogenicity. In addition, it may not be the melting permafrost that directly poses the most immediate risk. Disappearance of the Arctic sea ice could enable trade and deep drilling for oil and ores can also release a vast amount of pathogens.
Nevertheless, scientists have begun to plan for an Arctic monitoring network.
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