As the temperatures rise due to global warming, scientists warn of more “lethal” viruses in the future. Melting glaciers are constantly threatening the release of ancient frozen viruses and carbon stored in the frozen grounds of permafrost. Professor Jean-Michel Claverie has found some “zombie viruses” while studying Siberian permafrost.
Journey Of Virus Hunting
Jean-Michel Claverie is a professor of medicine and genomics at the Aix-Marseille University and has researched a lot on what he calls “zombie viruses”. Zombie viruses are ancient frozen viruses that are potentially dangerous for humans and animals. In 2014, He and his team recovered a 30,000 years old virus by inserting it into cultured cells, making it infectious for the first time in millennia.
Can They Spillover?
Now the question is whether these dormant viruses are able to spill over causing worldwide pandemics. The Arctic is home to 3.6 million people and the risk of spillover is always there. Claverie is of the opinion that as our earth’s temperature continues to rise, chances are that the frozen viruses may spill over and infect humans living nearby.
