Pandora’s box of Zombie Virus unveiled
The study of microbiologist Jean-Marie Alempic et al. have kindled anxiety of another outbreak of pandemic after reviving a record 48,000 years old “zombie virus” that had been buried in dormant stage under a frozen lake in Russia.
Permafrost is a ground that permanently frozen. It consists of organic matters, and soil. Global warming affects the melting of permafrost to release organic matter buried to a millions of years in the frozen form. Due to this, the microbes i.e. Prokaryotes and Unicellular Eukaryotes and Viruses revived.
Zombie Virus
Global warming is the main reason for the emergence of virus from the melting of permafrost. The study reported 13 new strain of viruses from 7 different Russian permafrost. All these viruses belong to 5 different clades which were not formerly revive from permafrost: Pandoravirus, Cedratvirus, Megavirus, Pacmanvirus, and Pithovirus.
Are they Harmful ?
The study of recently discovered zombie virus shows that they have potential to cause infections. Scientists have kept them in the category of dangerous virus. They said that pandemics like COVID-19 will become ordinary among populations and we should ready to tackle more pandemics in future.
