Microplastics pose a human health risk in more ways than one
New study from the respected Plymouth Marine Laboratory shows that microplastics in the natural environment are colonized by pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The study team calls for urgent action for waste management and strongly recommends to wear gloves when partaking in any beach cleans.
An emerging concern associated with these substrates are the microbial communities that rapidly make their home on the particle surface, forming complex biofilms known as the ‘Plastisphere’. These communities may often include pathogenic (disease-causing) or antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria.
Lab studies have shown that some commonly-discarded plastic materials serve as a platform for the selective growth of bacterial communities responsible for AMR and diseases in both humans and animals. Whilst previous work has explored this in the environment, several questions and issues remained unanswered, which this new study aimed to address.
The study, titled ‘Sewers to Seas: Exploring Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance on Microplastics from Hospital Wastewater to Marine Environments’, was published this week in Environment International.
This solid review supports research conducted last year by Dr Jon Burton of Oracle Environmental and Paul Walker at Socotec.
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