We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
A review of the influence of environmental pollutants (microplastics, pesticides, antibiotics, air pollutants, viruses, bacteria) on animal viruses
AI summary Read the abstract
This review summarizes existing research on how environmental pollutants -- including microplastics, pesticides, and antibiotics -- affect animal viruses by influencing their survival, mutation rates, and ability to spread. The findings suggest that microplastics can serve as surfaces where viruses persist longer in the environment, potentially increasing transmission risks. This has implications for both animal and human health, as pollutant-virus interactions could contribute to the emergence of new disease threats.
Microorganisms, especially viruses, cause disease in both humans and animals. Environmental chemical pollutants including microplastics, pesticides, antibiotics sand air pollutants arisen from human activities affect both animal and human health. This review assesses the impact of chemical and biological contaminants (virus and bacteria) on viruses including its life cycle, survival, mutations, loads and titers, shedding, transmission, infection, re-assortment, interference, abundance, viral transfer between cells, and the susceptibility of the host to viruses. It summarizes the sources of environmental contaminants, interactions between contaminants and viruses, and methods used to mitigate such interactions. Overall, this review provides a perspective of environmentally co-occurring contaminants on animal viruses that would be useful for future research on virus-animal-human-ecosystem harmony studies to safeguard human and animal health.
More Papers Like This
Environmental virotoxicology: how pollutant exposure modulates viral infections – a systematic review of wildlife-associated evidence
AI summary Read the abstract
Pollution in the environment—from plastics to chemicals—can weaken animals' immune systems and make viral infections worse, which means diseases could spread more easily through wildlife populations and potentially jump to humans. This review of over 160 studies shows that pollutants can wake up dormant viruses in animals' bodies and help viruses reproduce faster, creating a dangerous combination of weak defenses and stronger infections. Understanding how pollution affects disease in animals matters for people too, since many animal viruses can infect humans, making it important to monitor both pollution and disease outbreaks together.
Micropollutants and Their Interactions With Relevant Environmental Viruses
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examined how microplastics and other micropollutants interact with viruses in aquatic environments, particularly within the One Health framework linking environmental, animal, and human health. Researchers found that viruses can adsorb onto microplastic surfaces and their biofilms, potentially aiding viral transport and persistence in water. The study highlights the need for more research on how these pollutant-virus interactions could affect disease transmission.
Microplastics as Vectors for Viral Transmission: Mechanisms, Influencing Factors, and Ecological-Health Risks
AI summary Read the abstract
Tiny plastic particles floating in the environment can stick to viruses and help them survive longer and spread more easily, which could increase the risk of getting sick. This review article summarizes what scientists have learned about how plastics and viruses interact, and why it matters, because many of us are now exposed to both microplastics and viruses at the same time, which could be worse for our immune systems than facing either threat alone. Understanding this problem better will help researchers figure out how to protect public health as plastic pollution continues to grow worldwide.
Viruses in the era of microplastics and plastispheres: Analytical methods, advances and future directions
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines how viruses interact with microplastics in the environment, including how viral particles attach to plastic surfaces and what this means for human and environmental health. Microplastics can carry viruses across water environments, and the biofilms that form on plastic surfaces create conditions for viral survival and gene transfer. These findings raise concerns that microplastics could serve as vehicles for spreading disease-causing viruses through water systems.
Environmental virotoxicology: how pollutant exposure modulates viral infections – a systematic review of wildlife-associated evidence
AI summary Read the abstract
Pollution in our environment—from plastics to chemicals to heavy metals—can weaken animals' immune systems and make them more vulnerable to viral infections, which could then spread to humans. This review of over 160 studies shows that contaminants are actively making disease outbreaks worse in wildlife, and in some cases may even be creating viruses that resist our medicines. Understanding these pollution-disease connections matters because animals are often where new diseases start before jumping to people, so controlling pollution could help prevent the next pandemic.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.