Abstract
Climate warming in the Arctic may increase the risk of zoonoses due to expansion of vector habitats, improved chances of vector survival during winter, and permafrost degradation. Monitoring of soil temperatures at Siberian cryology control stations since 1970 showed correlations between air temperatures and the depth of permafrost layer that thawed during summer season. Between 1900s and 1980s, the temperature of surface layer of permafrost increased by 2–4°C; and a further increase of 3°C is expected. Frequent outbreaks of anthrax caused death of 1.5 million deer in Russian North between 1897 and 1925. Anthrax among people or cattle has been reported in 29,000 settlements of the Russian North, including more than 200 Yakutia settlements, which are located near the burial grounds of cattle that died from anthrax. Statistically significant positive trends in annual average temperatures were established in 8 out of 17 administrative districts of Yakutia for which sufficient meteorological data were available. At present, it is not known whether further warming of the permafrost will lead to the release of viable anthrax organisms. Nevertheless, we suggest that it would be prudent to undertake careful monitoring of permafrost conditions in all areas where an anthrax outbreak had occurred in the past.
Highlights
Climate change in the Arctic may increase the risk of propagation of zoonoses due to the expansion of vector habitats and development of more favorable climatic conditions for their survival during the winter season, increases in average air temperatures, and permafrost degradation
Among all the Arctic territories of the Russian Federation, Yakutia has the greatest number of settlements, where outbreaks of anthrax have been registered in the past, which is explained by very intense breeding of reindeer and horses
The territory of Yakutia can be subdivided into four climate-geographic zones: the west part from the Laptev Sea to the south boundaries of the republic; the central plains part; the northeast part including the Arctic tundra and Novosibirsk islands; and the south highlands part
Summary
Climate change in the Arctic may increase the risk of propagation of zoonoses due to the expansion of vector habitats and development of more favorable climatic conditions for their survival during the winter season, increases in average air temperatures, and permafrost degradation. The temperature of the surface layer of the permafrost is predicted to increase by 1.5Á28C in West Siberia and Yakutia, and by 1.0Á2.08C in Chukotka and the north regions of the Far East (5). Among all the Arctic territories of the Russian Federation, Yakutia has the greatest number of settlements, where outbreaks of anthrax have been registered in the past, which is explained by very intense breeding of reindeer and horses. The spores of the bacterium anthrax may survive for 50Á70 years more in the samples excavated at the depth of 1 m below the level of seasonal thawing in permafrost, as was observed in one Yakutia district (18). Potential hazard of the historic cattle burial grounds was confirmed by the outbreaks of Siberian anthrax among domestic reindeer in the Taymyr region of Russian Arctic in 1969 and 1977 (19). Other researchers observed a strain of Bacillus sp. in frozen ground samples dated 3 million years (21)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
