Zombie Virus trapped for 48,500 years frozen in Arctic's permafrost revived by Scientist

NASA climate scientists have warned about the dangers posed by the viruses buried under ice caps in the Arctic region. Scientists mentioned that the rising temperatures due to global warming are causing part of the Artic region’s permafrost, a frozen layer of soil that is beneath that surface, to thaw.

Notably, one-fifth of the Northern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost. According to scientists, if the permafrost thaws significantly, some viruses described as “zombie viruses” that have been lying dormant for up to 48,500 years could reawaken and possibly endanger animals and humans.

A study about the discovery has been published in the journal Viruses in which the researchers stated, "Fortunately, we can reasonably hope that an epidemic caused by a revived prehistoric pathogenic bacterium could be quickly controlled by the modern antibiotics at our disposal even though bacteria carrying antibiotic-resistance genes appear to be surprisingly prevalent in permafrost."

As permafrost provides an oxygen-free environment that is not penetrated by light, scientists asserted it is like a time capsule of viruses and mummified remains of long-gone animals.

Scientists revive ancient viruses from permafrost

According to reports, French researcher Jean-Michel Claverie and his team, in the study, reported that they had isolated and revived several ancient viruses from permafrost including a giant virus strain (Pithovirus) discovered in a sample containing a lot of mammoth wool.

"This study confirms the capacity of large DNA viruses infecting Acanthamoeba to remain infectious after more than 48,500 years spent in deep permafrost," the authors wrote in the study. Mr Claverie and his team have been concentrating on recovering ancient viruses that affect only single-celled amoebae. "Without the need to embark on such a risky project, we believe our results with Acanthamoeba-infecting viruses can be extrapolated to many other DNA viruses capable of infecting humans or animals," they added.

Further, the scientists also issued a warning that the melting of the permafrost may result in the unleashing of some unknown pathogens. "How long these viruses could remain infectious once exposed to outdoor conditions (UV light, oxygen, heat), and how likely they will be to encounter and infect a suitable host in the interval, is yet impossible to estimate. But the risk is bound to increase in the context of global warming, in which permafrost thawing will keep accelerating, and more people will populate the Arctic in the wake of industrial ventures," scientists noted.