Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Jul;180:113766. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113766. Epub 2022 May 27.
Sewage-associated plastic wastes, such as wet wipes and cotton bud sticks, commonly wash up on beaches; however, it is unclear whether this represents a public health risk. In this study, sewage-associated plastic waste, and naturally occurring substrates (seaweed and sand), were collected from ten beaches along the Firth of Forth estuary (Scotland, UK) and analysed using selective media for the faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) E. coli and intestinal enterococci (IE), and potential human pathogens (Vibrio spp.). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) analysis was used to determine antibiotic resistance in selected strains. FIOs and Vibrio were more often associated with wet wipes and cotton bud sticks than with seaweed, and there was evidence of resistance to several antibiotics. This work demonstrates that plastics associated with sewage pollution can facilitate the survival and dissemination of FIOs and Vibrio and thus, could present an as yet unquantified potential risk to human health at the beach.
污水相关的塑料废物，如湿纸巾和棉签棒，常被冲到海滩上；然而，目前尚不清楚这是否构成公共健康风险。在这项研究中，从福斯湾（苏格兰，英国）的十个海滩采集了污水相关的塑料废物和天然基质（海藻和沙子），并使用选择性培养基对粪便指示菌（大肠杆菌和肠球菌）和潜在的人类病原体（弧菌属）进行了分析。最小抑菌浓度（MIC）分析用于确定选定菌株的抗生素耐药性。指示菌和弧菌更常与湿纸巾和棉签棒相关，而与海藻相关较少，并且存在对几种抗生素的耐药证据。这项工作表明，与污水污染相关的塑料可以促进指示菌和弧菌的存活和传播，因此，在海滩上可能对人类健康构成目前尚未量化的潜在风险。
