According to new data, bats and birds may not be the cause of the next Pandemic.
Lake Hazen, the largest freshwater lake in the world, may be more at risk of spillover from a new host than other lakes, according to genetic analysis.
The findings suggest that as global temperatures rise due to climate change, it becomes more likely that viruses andbacteria locked up in glaciers and permafrost could cause diseases to local wildlife.
An outbreak of anthrax in northern Siberia in 2016 that killed a child and at least seven other people was caused by a heat wave that exposed an infectious reindeer carcass. The last outbreak in the area was in 1941.
In order to better understand the risk posed by frozen viruses, a group of people collected soil and samples from Lake Hazen, close to where small, medium and large amounts of meltwater from local glaciers flowed in.
Swedish mountain shrinks as glacier shrinks.
Next, they ran an experiment to see if the signatures in the samples were similar to those of known viruses, as well as potential animal, plant orfungal hosts.
As the climate warms, the risk of viruses spilling over to new hosts is higher at locations close to where large amounts of meltwater flow in.
The team didn't know how many of the viruses they identified were previously unknown or if they were capable of triggering an infection.
Research suggests that unknown Viruses can loiter in glacier ice. Last year, researchers at Ohio State University in the US announced they had found genetic material from 33 different types of Viruses in ice samples from the Tibetan plateau in China. The viruses were thought to be around 15,000 years old.
Scientists at France's National Centre for Scientific Research in Aix-Marseille were able to revive a giant virus they isolated from Siberia for the first time in 30,000 years. Jean-Michel Claverie said that exposing ice layers could be a recipe for disaster.
You have to sign up for the first edition.
Every weekday morning, Archie and Nimo take you through the top stories.
The peak of the ice cap has never been rained on before.
Predicting a high risk of spillover isn't the same as predicting actual spillovers or Pandemics The likelihood of dramatic events is low as long as the viruses are not present in the same place.
Climate change is predicted to change the range of existing species and potentially bring new hosts into contact with ancient viruses orbacteria.
As temperatures are rising, the risk of spillover in this environment is increasing. Is this going to cause epidemics? We have no idea.
The potential for host switch in Lake Hazen is unknown. "For all we know, it could be the same as the likelihood of host switch posed by viruses from the mud in your local pond," said ArwynEdwards, the director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Environmental Microbiology.
He said that we need to explore the microbes all over our planet to understand the risks. There are two clear things now. The major risks to humanity are from the influence on our climate of the rapid warming of theArctic. There are diseases from other places that are finding their way into the vulnerable communities in the northern part of the world.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
