Study: Disease-Causing Parasites May Hitch a Ride on Trash and Eventually Spread Throughout Oceans

According to a recent study, microplastics represent a channel for infections on land to reach the water, potentially affecting human and wildlife health.

This study links microplastic contamination in the water to disease-carrying pathogens on land.

The study, published on April 26 in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to link microplastics in the water to infections on land.

Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium (Crypto), and Giardia are diseases that may infect both people and animals.

The World Health Organization recognizes them as underappreciated sources of sickness from shellfish intake, and they are found all over the ocean.

Problems with animals and humans

(Photo : ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Microplastics are microscopic plastic particles no larger than 5 millimeters in size, around the size of a grain of rice.

They've polluted waterways as far away as Antarctica.

The study's findings suggested that infections can move throughout the ocean by hitchhiking on microplastics, reaching regions where a terrestrial parasite would never be detected.

T. Toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite found exclusively in cat faeces, Toxoplasma gondii, which has infected numerous ocean species, as per ScienceDaily.

UC Davis and its collaborators have a long history of investigating the parasite's link to sea otter fatalities.

It has also been responsible for the extinction of highly endangered species such as Hector's dolphins and Hawaiian monk seals.

Toxoplasmosis in humans can result in life-long diseases as well as developmental and reproductive problems.

The scientists conducted laboratory studies to see if the identified diseases might connect with polymers in saltwater for the research.

Polyethylene microbeads and polyester microfibers were utilized, as were other forms of microplastics.

Microbeads are frequently found in cosmetics, such as exfoliants and cleansers, whereas microfiber cloths are prevalent in clothes and fishing nets.

Also Read: Scientists Discover an Entirely New Immune System in Some Bacteria That Destroys Pathogens

How do plastics and pathogens interact?

Crypto and Giardia produce gastrointestinal illness, which can be fatal in young children and the immunocompromised, as per The Conversation.

Toxo can infect people for the rest of their lives and be lethal to those with weakened immune systems.

Infection in pregnant women can potentially result in miscarriage, blindness, and neurological damage in the child.

Toxo also attacks and kills a variety of marine creatures, including threatened animals such as southern sea otters, Hector's dolphins, and Hawaiian monk seals.

Researchers initially placed microplastic pellets and strands in a glass beaker of saltwater in the lab for two weeks to see if these parasites could cling to plastic surfaces.

This phase was critical for inducing the production of a biofilm, which is a sticky coating of bacteria and gel-like substances that covers polymers when they encounter fresh or saltwater.

This sticky layer is also known as an eco-corona by researchers.

The parasites were then introduced to the test bottles, and we measured how many were trapped on the microplastics or floated freely in the saltwater during a seven-day period.

Unlike most other infections discovered in saltwater, the pathogens we studied are originated from terrestrial animal and human hosts.

Their prevalence in marine ecosystems is solely owing to the pollution of fecal matter that ends up in the sea.

According to the findings, microplastics might potentially be used as a mode of transportation for these parasites.

These pathogens are unable to proliferate in the water.

The introduction of viruses into marine habitats via plastics, on the other hand, has the potential to radically modify how these diseases travel around in marine waters.

Microplastics that float on the surface, we believe, have the ability to travel large distances, spreading infections far from their initial origins on land and carrying them to areas they would not otherwise be capable of reaching.