The presence of microfibers of synthetic or natural origin in the ocean has increased exponentially in recent years.

Materials from plastic pollution, from the textile industry or as a result of maritime and fishing activities have become ubiquitous particles in the planet's seas, to the point of posing a threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health.

Once microbes colonize these materials, they

give off an organic odor and are eaten by marine animals

.

And, due to their persistence, they accumulate in the organism of their predators, which, in turn, can be consumed by other beings, thus advancing through the food chain.

In the specific case of the Mediterranean, a new study published this Wednesday in the journal

PLOS ONE

, prepared by researchers from the Sorbonne University in Paris, indicates that almost 200 species of bacteria colonize microfibers in the sea, including one that causes poisoning. food in humans.

It is

V

ibrio parahaemolyticus

, a potentially dangerous bacterium

that causes food poisoning through shellfish.

In this work, scientists have used advanced microscopy and DNA sequencing techniques to identify those microorganisms that live on fibers collected in the northwestern Mediterranean;

In this way, they have discovered that an average of more than 2,600 cells live in each microfiber.

It is the first study to demonstrate the presence of pathogens of the vibrio group in Mediterranean microfibers.

"This is an important discovery to assess health risks, since

the presence of this bacterium can be a threat to bathing and seafood consumption,"

the authors point out.

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"The role of climate change also influences the spread of this potentially pathogenic bacterium," adds researcher Maria Luiza Pedrotti, lead author of the study.

"Studies have shown that temperature has a significant correlation with the increase in Vibrio species and the occurrence of infections; at the time we found

V. parahaemolyticus

summer coastal temperatures ranged from 25.2 to 26.5° C, while this year, in the same place, they have reached 29°C".

In addition to the health risk, the study also raises the environmental impact of microfibers.

The increasing amount of persistent plastic debris in the environment may be carrying dangerous bacteria and other pollutants throughout the ocean, thereby increasing the risk of contamination, compared to short-lived natural particles such as wood or sediment.

WHO warning

The study by the French university joins other recent works that analyze the effect of microplastics in the oceans and their possible influence as a pathway for terrestrial pathogens to reach the ocean, with consequences for human health and biodiversity.

According to a study by the University of California-Davis, published last April in the journal

Scientific Reports,

microplastics favor the concentration of disease-causing microbes in areas of the ocean with greater plastic pollution.

The pathogens analyzed in that study -

Toxoplasma gondii

,

Cryptosporidium

and

Giardia

- can infect both humans and animals.

In this sense, the World Health Organization has already pointed out that this type of microorganism may be an underestimated cause of diseases linked to the consumption of fish and shellfish and has encouraged more research on its effects on people.

"It's easy for people to dismiss plastic problems as something that doesn't affect them, to

say 'I'm not a turtle: I'm not going to choke on it,'" says Karen Shapiro, an infectious disease specialist and co-author of the study in

Scientific reports

.

"But microplastics can displace germs, which end up in water and food. That's important, because once we start talking about disease and health, there's more scope for change."

Scientists from the University of California found that more parasites adhered to polyester microfibers (found in clothing or fishing nets) than to polyethylene microbeads (common in cosmetics), although both types of plastic have the ability to carry pathogens. terrestrial.

"When plastic is dumped into the sea, invertebrates are fooled," summarizes Shapiro, "so we are disrupting natural food webs by introducing this man-made material that can also introduce deadly parasites."

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