Researchers shocked to see that bacteria’s antimicrobial resistance is strengthened when exposed to plastic particles and point to a potential outsized impact on refugees
Microplastics—tiny shards of plastic debris—are all over the planet. They have made their way up food chains, accumulated in oceans, clustered in clouds and on mountains, and been found inside our bodies at alarming rates. Scientists have been racing to uncover the unforeseen impacts of so much plastic in and around us.
One possible, and surprising, consequence: more drug-resistant bacteria.
In a startling discovery, a team of Boston University researchers found that bacteria exposed to microplastics became resistant to multiple types of antibiotics commonly used to treat infections. They say this is especially concerning for people in high-density, impoverished areas like refugee settlements, where discarded plastic piles up and bacterial infections spread easily. The study is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
“The fact that there are microplastics all around us, and even more so in impoverished places where sanitation may be limited, is a striking part of this observation,” says Muhammad Zaman, a BU College of Engineering professor of biomedical engineering who studies antimicrobial resistance and refugee and migrant health. “There is certainly a concern that this could present a higher risk in communities that are disadvantaged, and only underscores the need for more vigilance and a deeper insight into [microplastic and bacterial] interactions.”