The Guardian reports this.
The material says that strains of these Methuselah microbes or “zombie viruses” have already been isolated by scientists.
Researchers fear that an infection from the past could trigger a new global epidemic.
It is noted that they have begun planning the creation of an Arctic monitoring network that will identify early cases of diseases caused by ancient microorganisms.
At the same time, scientists reported that they do not know exactly what viruses are hidden in permafrost, but there is a risk that due to global warming they will be released and cause, for example, an ancient form of polio.
On January 16, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said that cases where patients are simultaneously infected with a viral and bacterial infection have become more common in Russia.