microplastics They are already invading every corner of the planet. From Arctic sea ice to air in Antarctica. It has been found in tap water and bottled water; in the dust of houses; in birds, fish, mammals and even human blood, feces, placenta and lungs. they are a emerging health threat. Even more so, given that they are often “full of life”. Because Algae, protists, parasites, viruses, fungi and bacteria have been found in microplastics.
Marine microbial biologist Linda Amaral-Zettler of the University of Chicago Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) describes these rich communities of plastic inhabitants as ” plastic sphere“.
13 years ago, a team led by Amaral-Zettler found bacteria belonging to the genus Vibrio. pathogenic strains for mankind.
Animals, including humans, can inhale or ingest pathogen-coated microplastics and contract infectious diseases.
Researchers were unable to determine whether these bacteria were actually a threat at the time, but now MBL and the Royal Netherlands Naval Research Institute (NIOZ) have found that: there are reasons to be vigilant.
Animals, including humans, can inhale or ingest pathogen-coated microplastics and contract infectious diseases.
“Other evidence is that microplastics antibiotic resistance Carolyn Beats, biologist and science reporter, writes in the Proceedings of the United States National Academy of Sciences (PNAS):
A recent forecast shows that Between 82 and 358 trillion microplastics may be floating in the planet’s oceans (5mm pieces). Scientists are concerned that pathogens could use these parts to travel long distances in water or air.
Countless number of pathogens
“We’re swimming in a mess of our own makingwarns Randi Rotjan, a marine ecologist at Boston University.
In any case, conclusive evidence that all this led to the increase is lacking. infectious diseasesThis is probably because until now scientists were more interested in explaining why we should be concerned about microplastics, rather than showing that they can spread microplastics.
To assess the real threat, microbial ecologists and infectious disease specialists study microplastics-associated microbes in the sea and marine inhabitants, exposing laboratory animals and human cells to large amounts of pathogen-coated microplastics.
One of the problems facing researchers is the enormous variety of sizes, shapes and chemical compositions of microplastics. numerous pathogensTheir success may depend on their own genetic variation and the characteristics of the plastics they encounter.
Translation: researchers already know this Microplastics have the potential to infect both humans and wildlifehowever, the probability of this happening is still under investigation.
Plastics are often impregnated toxic chemicals and they can pull them out of the environment. Some research on microplastics has investigated how these toxins and the physical structure of plastic can harm living things.
In May of this year, a research team from the UK and Australia coined the term ”.plasticosis‘ to describe the fibrotic disease caused by the plastic-induced scarring they observed in the stomachs of seabirds.
infections in humans
Prove that microplastics can happen infectious disease pipelines Not easy. First, researchers need to show that pathogens colonize microplastics. “You really have to make sure you’re dealing with pathogens because there are pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains for the same bacteria,” explains Gabriele Sorci of the French National Center for Scientific Research.
“Next, you have to show that these bacteria can survive long enough to reach potential hosts after colonizing the microplastic. infect the host and then produce the disease“, To add.
Rotjan and colleagues confirmed four years ago that: The journey from platysphere to host contamination is possible, at least in the laboratory.. The team fed the corals Astrangia poculata with polyethylene beads. The corals that ate these germ-free microplastics survived. Those who eat microplastics coated with a pathogenic strain Escherichia coli they died in a month.
In the wild, Rotan and his team found: Corals consume large amounts of microplastics. In fact, they found that an average coral polyp contains more than 100 particles, but whether these particles cause disease is still unknown.
In theory, Only inhalation or ingestion of environmental microplastics can lead to the release of pathogens that cause infections in humans.. In March this year, a Chinese research team demonstrated in an in vitro study that Influenzavirus A can colonize polystyrene microplastics and transport them into human lung cells through endocytosis of the plastic particle.
What’s more, once the microplastic got in, it inhibited the cell’s ability to produce proteins that could keep the spread of the virus in check.
Plastic production continues
But still It is unclear whether microbes colonize microplastics more easily than other types of natural waste.like wood chips. Some studies suggest that in some environments there are more potential pathogens in microplastics than in natural materials.
However, a meta-analysis published in the ‘Annual Journal of Marine Science’ in 2020 comes to the opposite conclusion; concludes that microplastics are no more likely to harbor potential pathogens than natural surfaces.
World plastic production is exhausted: now it reaches about 400 million tons per year
However, plastic generally lasts and floats longer than natural substrates; because, potential to carry associated organismsAccording to various scientific studies, it is spreading to other parts of the world, including non-native species and pathogens.
Since the 1950s, the sector has been producing plastic products at an increasing rate. World production is exhausted: now it reaches about 400 million tons per year. Half of these plastics, such as styrofoam plates and polypropylene shopping bags, are disposable, and the vast majority are not recycled.
Once thrown, plastics can persist in the environment for centuriesgradually breaks down into smaller pieces. Although plastic is long-lasting, some types of plastic can begin to erode within months or even weeks when exposed to the elements on the beach or ocean surface.
The industry also produces microplastics for direct consumer use, such as beads in exfoliating facial cleansers and fibers in synthetic textiles.
Even if the industry stops all plastic production, microplastics will continue to increase as existing plastics will gradually degrade.
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