Archaeopathogens in a Thawing World

The arctic is warming at a rate much faster than the rest of the world; in the past decade alone, temperatures have risen 0.75 degrees Celsius. This rapid warming is responsible for a variety of ecological and human-health concerns, from the release of water into global circulation to large-scale methane release from thawing peatlands. 

There are, however, lesser studied threats of permafrost melt that relate to the exposure of frozen biota coming to the surface under a warmer Arctic regime. We suggest that the vectors for certain frozen pathogens have laid dormant similarly to seed-bank reservoirs; now with rapid permafrost melt these frozen pathogens are becoming an increasing threat to humans and other taxa within the polar zones. The exposure of previously undisturbed archaeopathogens to both animal and human contact increases the potential for spread of novel diseases. It is as yet unclear how much of a threat this process poses to humans and ecosystems.