Return Of The Smallpox: Global Warming Strikes Again

By Samantha Weller on August 28, 2016

Everyone has probably heard of smallpox at least once in their life. However, you probably haven’t heard of it in such a long time that you might’ve momentarily forgotten that the first successful vaccine came around to defeat the life-threatening disease which caused around 300 million deaths.

Even just 50 years ago in 1967, the World Health Organization claimed that two million people died from it that year. Thankfully, the number of deaths were significantly depreciating, with a hopeful new feeling of safety around the world, and a decade later around 1980, the World Health Assembly declared that smallpox was eradicated — or so they thought.

Despite this promising announcement, smallpox was quietly active underneath the soil in Siberia, gradually getting nearer and nearer to possibly once again cause endless deaths around the world, as the permafrost melts away due to climate change. What was once the defeated factor in a milestone, might now have a chance at coming back to haunt us as simple as that.

While climate change is beyond apparent, not all of it is at rates yet worrisome, but the areas where it is includes ice melting at an exceedingly accelerated rate than others. And currently, Siberia is one of these places, containing areas where the ice is melting three times faster than normal.

Currently, the permafrost is melting right on top of a graveyard where smallpox victims had been buried as the result of a horrific epidemic over 100 years ago, and scientists are growing increasingly more worried about when it nears the surface of the graveyard.

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“Naturally, the bodies were buried under the upper layer of permafrost soil, on the bank of the Kolyma River,” claims Boris Kershengolts, of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences, stated from The Independent.

And with that, one of the deadliest diseases known to man might come back. The disease was underneath us this whole time, and because of prolonged climate changes, it could soon resurface. It’s only a matter of preparation and further examination. But thanks to global warming, we could be threatened by a previous killing machine, and many more to come.

On top of this nearing disaster, the discovery might be one of the many upcoming ones caused by our carelessness towards out planet. In fact, this one could only be the beginning of an almost-insurmountable circumstance. Experts say that this could serve as a warning of what’s more to come as a result of global warming.

One expert named Sergey Netesov, chief of the bionanotechnology, microbiology, and virology lab of the science department at Novosibirsk State University, claims that, out of all the other potential underground diseases, not all of the contaminated graveyards are known. While it’s already painstaking to watch the soil wither away, as a threat to humanity nears us in the process, it’s going to be even more difficult for scientists to locate primarily which graveyards to watch out for.

And the mere fact that smallpox remained active all these years could potentially deem it as more dangerous, having possibly grown stronger over the years while being dormant. At least scientists are able to note from this the potential of what other repercussions could result from the changing climate. Certainly an upheaval to both medicine and scientists, but yet a mystery to be solved.

But sadly, the fact remains that we might have to be prepared for revisits of old viruses. There is only so much we can do about climate change right now and fighting against old and long-forgotten diseases. However, we can be prepared and be weary of that which speeds up the process of an already sad and destructive change.

As of now, scientists will further look into accelerated areas of change from global warming, and try to detect anything else to be weary about. Our only hope is with the technology we have today, but until then, we could be in for a series of dangers.

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