Global threat PH, Asia Pacific not ready to face extinct viruses

"WE are not ready." This was what Dr. Susan Pineda Mercado said when asked whether Philippines and Asia Pacific are ready for the effects of the possible waking up of supposedly extinct viruses frozen in south and north poles.

It was reported that following climate change, icebergs and ice caps in these particular parts of the world melt, freeing frozen viruses that had long ago stopped endangering life forms on Earth for several generations now.

Mercado is the special envoy of the President for global health initiatives and is one of the delegates of the Asia-Pacific Healthy Island Conference held at Marco Polo Davao.

This threat on health related to the effects of climate change is no longer a new thing. In 2005, Nasa scientists were reported to have had revived a bacteria that was encased in a frozen pond in Alaska for more than 30,000 years already. The microbe revived was called Carnobacterium and had been frozen ever since mammoths still roamed the earth. During the study, it was found out that when the ice melted, the viruses started swimming around as if not frozen for thousands of years.

Two years after this, an eight-million-year old bacterium dormant in frozen ice was also found out to be alive after the ice had melted down.

Mercado said this is indeed a very serious threat, however, she admitted that the Philippines and other countries in the globe are not ready for this threat. Unlike plants and animals, she said viruses function differently and do not necessarily die when frozen.

Mercado said the World Health Organization (WHO) has the international health regulations functioning as a mechanism for all countries to alert each other if new bacteria and virus outbreak occur in their respective countries. She assured that the Philippines is very much active in this.

"The way we should handle it is the way we should handle current viral infections. Essentially, what people need to understand is how diseases are transmitted," Mercado said.

"The preparation for the viruses that are asleep and the viruses that are awake is essentially the same but this is not enough and so there is really a need to do more in that area of being prepared," she added.

In support of this, Institute for Climate and Sustainae Cities executive director Renato Redentor Constantino said one of the most threatening existing bacteria brought by insects are vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue which should also be given proper attention as much as the fear of waking up supposedly extinct viruses exist.

"Vector-borne disease is the most challenging part because what happens is these mosquitos, dengue and malaria used to be in tropical areas only. But over the past decades, they move up to places like Japan who used to not have these many cases of malaria and dengue. The behavior of the mosquitos as they adapt is also changing. So it’s not only affecting us. It’s also affecting the insects as well and I think most viruses come from vectors like mosquitos," said Mercado.