Scientists warn of 'zombie virus' as Arctic permafrost melts

Temperatures rise twice as fast in the Arctic than in other parts of the world, due to climate change

A 48,500-year-old 'zombie virus’ was found buried in a frozen lake in Russia. Photo: Unsplash

“Zombie viruses” as old as 48,500 years could make a comeback as the Arctic permafrost melts due to climate change, scientists have said.

Researcher Jean-Michel Claverie and his team have managed to revive the frozen virus and other strains, including a 27,000 year-old sample taken from the stomach of a woolly mammoth.

It is wrong to suggest that “zombie viruses are not a public health threat”, the Emeritus professor of medicine and genomics at the Aix-Marseille University School of Medicine in Mareille wrote in a report released last month.

Climate change is causing the temperature to warm twice as fast in the Arctic, the report said.

“One of the most visible consequences is the global thawing of permafrost at increasing depths. This rapid permafrost thaw causes mobilisation of ancient organic matter previously preserved for millennia in permafrost deep layers.”

Kimberley Miner, climate scientist at the Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, told CNN that it is important to keep the permafrost from thawing, despite the low risks of these viruses being unleashed.

“There’s a lot going on with the permafrost that is of concern, and (it) really shows why it’s super important that we keep as much of the permafrost frozen as possible,” she said.

Scientists carry out an autopsy of a 3,500-year-old Brown Bear preserved in permafrost, in Russia. Reuters

Permafrost, which makes up 25 per cent of the Northern Hemisphere, is cold and devoid of oxygen. Being underground means light cannot penetrate it and it houses antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.

Mr Claverie's report also says that an anthrax epidemic that has been killing reindeers “has been linked to the deeper thawing of the permafrost active layer at the soil surface during exceptionally hot summers”.

He warned that unlike with bacteria, there isn't a “broad-spectrum” solution to viruses.

In pictures — Free-diving in Norway's Arctic Circle

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  Frenchman Arthur Guerin-Boeri before his dive to spot orcas. All photos: AFP

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  Guerin-Boeri's dives were off Spildra island, Norway, in the northern Arctic Circle

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  A killer whale in Kvaenangen Fjord, near Spildra

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  The area is where whales come to hunt herring

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  Guerin-Boeri is a five-time world champion in the dynamic apnea category of competitive freediving

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  He can swim more than 100 metres under water and hold his breath for several minutes

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  The ocean temperature is about 3°C while the air temperature is -4°C at this time of year

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  Guerin-Boeri spent a week diving from snowy Spildra, a tiny island in the Arctic Circle

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  The freediver plans to return next winter

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  His aim was simply to watch the majestic creatures

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  He said the experience was an 'unforgettable memory'

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  'I'm in the water next to two super-predators that accept me. It's majestic,' Guerin-Boeri said after his first dive with the mammals

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  Guerin-Boeri before his adventure

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  The diver warms up in a traditional Arctic hut by the fjord

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  Guerin-Boeri surfaces after a dive

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  He shelters from the unforgiving weather in a traditional Norwegian hut made from wood and covered with earth and grass

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  Guerin-Boeri approaches a killer whale

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  Diving in such inhospitable conditions is a tough challenge

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  Birds during a snowstorm off Spildra