The study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, is the first to connect microplastics in the ocean with land-based pathogens. It found that microplastics can make it easier for disease-causing pathogens to concentrate in plastic-contaminated areas of the ocean.
According to the team, pathogens such as toxoplasma (T) gondii, cryptosporidium (Crypto), and giardia can infect both humans and animals. The World Health Organisation recognises these pathogens as underestimated causes of illness from shellfish consumption and are found throughout the ocean.
“It’s easy for people to dismiss plastic problems as something that doesn’t matter to them, like, ‘I’m not a turtle in the ocean; I won’t choke on this thing,’” said Karen Shapiro, an associate professor in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
“But once you talk about disease and health, there’s more power to implement change. Microplastics can actually move germs around, and these...