Permafrost, ground that is continually frozen, appears to be an unlikely place to find life. In recent years, however, scientists have discovered an abundance of micro-organisms frozen in the permafrost, many of which are still alive.
A wide range of viruses have been found, including those called Pandoraviruses, which were found frozen in 30,000-year-old permafrost in Siberia. The researchers were able to revive one frozen Pandoravirus that, thankfully, only infects amoeba.
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Other more concerning viruses have also been found, including the strain of influenza that caused the 1918 pandemic and a relative of the smallpox virus that was found in a 300-year-old Siberian mummy.
In both cases, the genomes of the viruses had broken down and the viruses were no longer infectious.
Fortunately, most viruses don’t survive long outside of their hosts so finding a still-infectious human virus in the permafrost is unlikely.
It’s much more likely that we’ll continue to find viruses that infect other microorganisms, such as bacteria that have evolved to live in extreme environments.
Some living bacteria have been found in permafrost from over a million years ago. It’s possible that some of these frozen bacteria may still be able to cause disease.
In 2016 there was an anthrax outbreak in Siberia that killed one person and many animals. It’s thought that permafrost melting exposed the bacteria leading to the outbreak.
Anthrax is a type of bacteria that can form spores, a dormant form that can survive in very harsh environments.
As climate change causes more melting of the permafrost, it’s possible that further outbreaks of old or ancient microbes will occur. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a new virus emerge from the permafrost and cause the next global pandemic, however.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Roy Meddings, via email) 'How can a virus survive in ice for hundreds of years?'
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