According to researchers at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), microplastics can facilitate the accumulation of disease-causing pathogens in plastic-contaminated oceans, reaching places where a land parasite would normally never be found. . Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments or fibers produced by breaking down large pieces of plastic, including soft drink bottles, packaged food wrappers, and plastic bags. “It’s easy for people to dismiss plastic problems as something they don’t care about, like ‘I’m not a turtle in the ocean, I’ll not drown in this thing,’” said study author and UC Davis contributor. Professor Karen Shapiro in a press release. “But once you start talking about disease and health, there is more power to implement change. Microplastics can really move germs and these germs end up in our water and food.” The study, published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to link microplastics in the ocean to land-based pathogens. Previous studies have shown that humans and animals were known to consume microplastics through food and water, as well as to inhale them through air pollution. They have also been found in the feces of infants and some adults, as well as in human blood. The researchers looked at three common pathogens: Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium (Crypto) and Giardia, which can infect humans and animals. According to researchers, these pathogens are recognized by the World Health Organization as underestimated causes of diseases from the consumption of shellfish and are found throughout the ocean. Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite found only in cat feces, has infected many species in the ocean with toxoplasmosis and has also been linked to marine otter deaths, according to the study. In humans, researchers say the pathogen can cause lifelong disease as well as developmental and reproductive disorders. Cryptosporidium and Giardia can cause gastrointestinal disease and can be fatal in young children as well as people with immunosuppression. Under laboratory conditions, the researchers examined whether pathogens could be associated with plastics bathed in seawater using two different types of microplastics: polyethylene microspheres and polyester microfibers. Microspheres are often found in cosmetics, such as exfoliants and cleansers, while microfibers are found in clothes and are usually dumped in washing machines, reaching the oceans through sewer systems. The study, funded by the Ocean Conservation Council and the California Sea Grant Program, found that more parasites bind to microfibers than microspheres, although both types of microplastics can carry land pathogens. Researchers say that microplastics can make it easier for land parasites to reach the oceans, depending on whether the plastic particles sink or float. According to the study, microplastics floating along the sea surface can travel long distances, spreading pathogens away from their land sources, while submerged plastics can accumulate in the benthic zone at the seabed. This zone is where filter-eating creatures such as zooplankton, sea urchins, sea urchins, mussels, crabs and other shellfish live, increasing the likelihood of swallowing microplastics and any attached parasites. If marine life swallows such parasites, the researchers say the effects could have serious implications for food chains. “When plastics are thrown away, they invert the invertebrates,” Shapiro said in a statement. “We are changing natural food tissues by introducing this anthropogenic material that can also introduce deadly parasites.” To reduce the effects of microplastics on the ocean, researchers suggest using filters in washing machines and dryers and increasing rainwater treatment, as well as implementing “best management practices” for plastics industries and construction sites. “This is a major problem affecting both humans and animals,” said Emma Zhang, author of the study and a veterinary student at UC Davis. “We all depend on the ocean environment.”
