Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 26;12(1):6532. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10485-5.
Plastics are widely recognized as a pervasive marine pollutant. Microplastics have been garnering increasing attention due to reports documenting their ingestion by animals, including those intended for human consumption. Their accumulation in the marine food chain may also pose a threat to wildlife that consume species that can accumulate microplastic particles. Microplastic contamination in marine ecosystems has thus raised concerns for both human and wildlife health. Our study addresses an unexplored area of research targeting the interaction between plastic and pathogen pollution of coastal waters. We investigated the association of the zoonotic protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Giardia enterica with polyethylene microbeads and polyester microfibers. These pathogens were chosen because they have been recognized by the World Health Organization as underestimated causes of illness from shellfish consumption, and due to their persistence in the marine environment. We show that pathogens are capable of associating with microplastics in contaminated seawater, with more parasites adhering to microfiber surfaces as compared with microbeads. Given the global presence of microplastics in fish and shellfish, this study demonstrates a novel pathway by which anthropogenic pollutants may be mediating pathogen transmission in the marine environment, with important ramifications for wildlife and human health.
塑料被广泛认为是一种普遍存在的海洋污染物。由于有报道称动物（包括供人类食用的动物）摄入了微塑料，因此微塑料越来越受到关注。它们在海洋食物链中的积累也可能对食用能积累微塑料颗粒的物种的野生动物构成威胁。海洋生态系统中的微塑料污染因此引起了人类和野生动物健康的关注。我们的研究针对的是一个尚未开发的研究领域，即沿海水域塑料和病原体污染之间的相互作用。我们调查了海洋中存在的三种人畜共患原生动物寄生虫——刚地弓形虫、微小隐孢子虫和肠贾第虫与聚乙烯微珠和聚酯微纤维的关联。选择这些病原体是因为世界卫生组织已经认识到它们是低估的因食用贝类而导致疾病的原因，而且它们在海洋环境中具有持久性。我们表明，病原体能够在受污染的海水中与微塑料结合，与微珠相比，更多的寄生虫附着在微纤维表面。鉴于微塑料在鱼类和贝类中的全球存在，本研究展示了一种新的途径，即人为污染物可能在海洋环境中传播病原体，这对野生动物和人类健康有重要影响。
