Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, but who’s to say there isn’t some smallpox virus left, having a nice rest in the ice just waiting for an oil worker to breathe it in. Professor Claverie who’s been working with the resurrected virus said that “By going deeper we may reactivate the possibility that smallpox could become again a disease of humans in modern times”.
Because this is the first time this type of resurrection has been noted the researchers still don’t know how common it is. They don’t know, for instance, whether a virus that’s been frozen for a million years plus could be reactivated. They don’t know whether smaller virus types could come back to life. So the finding has, as ever, brought to light plenty more questions that need to be answered.
It’s fascinating that something could remain entombed in permafrost for so long and still be viable. But it does highlight further potential threats from climate change and oil exploration.
One thing’s for sure, we can’t rule out the possibility of reigniting a millennia old pandemic. I feel the plot of a B-movie coming on…
☛ Now: Eyam Plague Village — What Would You Do If The Plague Came To Town?
