The next pandemic could come from an ancient underground ice cave, scientists have warned.
Researchers from the Romanian Academy have discovered a bacterial strain that has been frozen in Romania‘s Scarisoara Ice Cave for 5,000 years.
Carefully extracting a sample, the researchers tested it against 10 common antibiotics, including those used to treat tuberculosis, colitis, and UTIs.
Their results showed that, despite dating back five millenia, the strain is already resistant to all 10 antibiotics.
Worryingly, the researchers predict the bacteria will wreak havoc if it manages to escape the ice.
And as global temperatures continue to rise, this terrifying prospect becomes more realistic by the day.
‘The Psychrobacter SC65A.3 bacterial strain isolated from Scarisoara Ice Cave, despite its ancient origin, shows resistance to multiple modern antibiotics and carries over 100 resistance–related genes,’ said study author Dr Cristina Purcarea.
‘If melting ice releases these microbes, these genes could spread to modern bacteria, adding to the global challenge of antibiotic resistance.’
Researchers from the Romanian Academy have discovered a bacterial strain that has been frozen in Romania’s Scarisoara Ice Cave for 5,000 years
The researchers sequenced the bacteria’s genome, and found 11 genes that are potentially able to kill or stop the growth of other bacteria, fungi, and viruses. In addition, they uncovered almost 600 genes with unknown functions
From the International Space Station to the acidic soil around volcanoes, bacteria have evolved to surive just about anywhere.
In their new study, the team set out to understand how bacteria have adapted to cold environments.
The team drilled a 25–metre ice core representing 13,000 years from an area in Scariosoara Ice Cave dubbed the ‘Great Hall’.
To avoid contamination, the ice fragments were placed in sterile bags and kept frozen on their way back to the lab.
There, the researchers isolated various bacterial strains and sequenced their genome to determine which genes allow the strain to survive in icy conditions.
The most interesting strain recovered is Psychrobacter SC65A.3 – a strain of the genus Psychrobacter.
Previous research has shown that other strains from this genus are known to cause infections in humans, as well as animals.
To test Psychrobacter SC65A.3’s resistance, the researchers exposed it to 28 antibiotics from 10 classes that are regularly given to humans.
The team drilled a 25–metre ice core representing 13,000 years from an area in Scariosoara Ice Cave dubbed the ‘Great Hall’
Worryingly, the bacteria was found to be resistant to all 10 – including trimethoprim, clindamycin, and metronidazole.
These antibiotics are routinely given to patients to treat UTIs, infections of lungs, skin, blood or the reproductive system.
‘The 10 antibiotics we found resistance to are widely used in oral and injectable therapies used to treat a range of serious bacterial infections in clinical practice,’ Dr Purcarea said.
The researchers then sequenced the bacteria’s genome, and found 11 genes that are potentially able to kill or stop the growth of other bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
In addition, they uncovered almost 600 genes with unknown functions.
According to the experts, this suggests the superbug uses a ‘yet untapped source for discovering novel biological mechanisms’.
While most pandemics have been caused by viruses, scientists have previously warned that the next one could be sparked by an antibiotic-resistant bacteria like this one.
‘These ancient bacteria are essential for science and medicine, but careful handling and safety measures in the lab are essential to mitigate the risk of uncontrolled spread,’ Dr Purcarea concluded.
KILLER VIRUSES COULD BE RELEASED FROM MELTING ICE IN THE ARCTIC, STUDY WARNS
Glaciers that are melting amid rising global temperatures could be the cause of the next deathly pandemic, a study said.
Scientists investigated how climate change may affect the risk of ‘spillover’ – a virus jumping to another species – by examining samples from Lake Hazen in the Arctic.
Lake Hazen, seen from above in this NASA image, is the largest High Arctic freshwater lake in the world
They found that the chance of a spillover event increases with the melting of glaciers, as the meltwater can transport pathogens to new hosts.
A warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of this ‘viral spillover’, the experts warn.
‘Spillover risk increases with runoff from glacier melt, a proxy for climate change,’ say the researchers in their paper, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
‘Should climate change also shift species range of potential viral vectors and reservoirs northwards, the High Arctic could become fertile ground for emerging pandemics.’
