| Description: |
Climate change is melting permafrost soils that have been frozen for thousands of years, and as the soils melt they are releasing ancient viruses and bacteria that, having lain dormant, are springing back to life. In August 2016, in a remote corner of Siberian tundra, a 12-year-old boy died and at least twenty people were hospitalized after being infected by anthrax. The theory is that, over 75 years ago, a reindeer infected with anthrax died and its frozen carcass became trapped under a layer of frozen soil, known as permafrost. There it stayed until a heatwave in the summer of 2016 thawed the permafrost. [Source: BBC News]
|
 |
