Thawing Permafrost Releases Deadly Anthrax in Siberia

A 2016 heatwave on Russia's Yamal Peninsula thawed permafrost containing a reindeer carcass from 1941, releasing viable anthrax spores. The outbreak killed 2,350 reindeer and a 12-year-old boy, and hospitalized dozens of herders. Russian authorities had discontinued the compulsory reindeer vaccination program in 2007, deeming the disease eliminated, which left the population vulnerable.