A prominent scientist has warned that decaying bodies and animals afflicted with deadly diseases could trigger the next global pandemic. Anirban Mahapatra, a microbiologist from Ohio State University, stated that deadly diseases such as anthrax, tetanus, and smallpox can be preserved in ice layers in the Arctic for thousands or even millions of years, according to a report by the British newspaper "Daily Star." Historically, this has not posed a significant threat to humanity, but with the rapid melting of ice sheets and retreating glaciers, diseases contained within could infect living organisms and lead to widespread outbreaks.
Dr. Mahapatra, a biologist at the American Research Association, told the newspaper: "There are viruses that can survive for decades, hundreds, thousands, and theoretically even millions of years in ice. What is happening is that we are finding many well-preserved animals, like mammoths, revealed by melting ice. If these animals are infected with viruses and bacteria, they can transmit that to other animals and humans."
The rising temperatures in the Arctic, occurring at twice the rate of the rest of the world, a phenomenon known as "polar amplification," does not help. Worse still, toxic permafrost could also harbor epidemics that most people have not encountered for many years, meaning they are less immune to them. One example is smallpox, which is likely to be found in body remains across glaciers worldwide. If an outbreak begins to spread among nearby humans, it could quickly infect millions.
Mahapatra continued: "There is a possibility of viruses that we no longer live with emerging. Especially if the bodies of humans that came out had smallpox, for instance. We are not routinely vaccinated against smallpox, so there could be a problem if these viruses are viable."
He referenced a new study conducted by Ohio State University about the collection of diseases found on the Tibetan Plateau, where some of the oldest ice in the world has been frozen for tens of thousands of years. Mahapatra stated: "What they discovered was a number of viruses from ice that is 15,000 years old, including 28 types of viruses never seen before."
Dr. Mahapatra pointed out that "if what is in the ice is a respiratory infection, like COVID-19, it could cause a massive outbreak." He noted that due to the nature of global travel even during a pandemic, remote villages could spawn real global epidemics. Therefore, it is unlikely that population centers that are not particularly close to major ice sources will avoid such outcomes.
He added, "There are melting glaciers in different parts of the world, such as the Andes, the Himalayas, and parts of the Alps, so this is not concentrated only in the Arctic." Among the many lessons that should be learned from the current pandemic is the awareness of how hazardous low-probability events must remain in our minds, according to scientist Mahapatra.
He concluded that, unsurprisingly, there is one clear way to avert such an outcome, stating: "The biggest issue is climate change, which is not going to end. We must save the Arctic ice and permafrost. We still have a chance to do that."
