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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to The potential role of micro- and nanoplastics in the spread of viruses
ClearMicroplastics and Nanoplastics as Carriers for Viral Transmission: Effects on Viral Properties, Infection, Immune Response, and Public Health
This review examined how microplastics and nanoplastics can act as carriers for viruses, potentially influencing the spread of infectious diseases. Researchers found that plastic particles create a surface habitat called the plastisphere that promotes microbial growth and can serve as a reservoir for pathogens. The study suggests that micro- and nanoplastics may alter viral persistence, infection dynamics, and immune responses, though significant knowledge gaps remain about the real-world impact on public health.
Plastisphere-hosted viruses: A review of interactions, behavior, and effects
This review examines how viruses attach to and thrive on microplastic surfaces in the environment, forming communities called the "plastisphere." These virus-laden microplastics can spread disease-causing agents through water and ecosystems, potentially reaching humans and posing public health risks that scientists are only beginning to understand.
Viruses in the era of microplastics and plastispheres: Analytical methods, advances and future directions
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.
Survival of human enteric and respiratory viruses on plastics in soil, freshwater, and marine environments
Researchers investigated the survival of human enteric and respiratory viruses on plastic surfaces in soil, freshwater, and marine environments. The study found that plastics and microplastics can harbor pathogenic viruses in addition to bacteria, suggesting that the so-called plastisphere may serve as a previously underappreciated pathway for the transmission of human pathogens in the environment.
Airborne micro- and nanoplastics: hidden vectors for human infection?
This commentary synthesizes evidence on whether airborne micro- and nanoplastics could serve as carriers for respiratory viruses. Researchers noted that the high abundance of plastic particles in air, combined with their surface properties that may enhance viral persistence, makes this a plausible transmission pathway. However, the authors emphasize that significant uncertainties remain and call for targeted research to determine whether plastic particles meaningfully contribute to airborne infection.
What is the micro- and nanoplastics impact on pathogenic microorganisms?
This perspective piece reviewed emerging evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics interact with pathogenic microorganisms, potentially enhancing pathogen survival, antibiotic resistance gene transfer, and virulence. The authors highlight the plastisphere as a habitat that may selectively enrich and amplify microbial pathogens.
Association between Microorganisms and Microplastics: How Does It Change the Host–Pathogen Interaction and Subsequent Immune Response?
This review explores how microplastics act as surfaces where bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms can attach and change their properties. When germs hitchhike on microplastic particles, their physical and chemical traits can shift, potentially tricking or overwhelming the immune system in new ways. The findings suggest that microplastic-associated pathogens could pose unexpected risks to human health by triggering abnormal immune responses.
Enteric virus infection was boosted by the accumulation of micro- and nano-particles in host cells
Researchers discovered that polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics can boost viral infection by promoting the release of virus-carrying extracellular vesicles from host cells. In experiments with murine norovirus, pre-exposure to the plastic particles enhanced viral spread while simultaneously suppressing key immune responses. The study identifies a previously unrecognized mechanism by which environmental plastic pollution could increase vulnerability to enteric virus infections.
Microplastics and viruses in the aquatic environment: a mini review
This review summarizes what is currently known about how microplastics interact with viruses in aquatic environments. Researchers found that microplastics can serve as carriers for viruses, potentially influencing their persistence, transmission, and ability to cause infection in water systems. The evidence indicates that the growing presence of microplastics in waterways may create new pathways for viral spread that are not yet fully understood.
Microplastics interact with SARS-CoV-2 and facilitate host cell infection
Researchers found that SARS-CoV-2 binds to microplastic surfaces, and this interaction facilitates enhanced viral infection of host cells and amplifies inflammatory responses, suggesting microplastics may act as vectors for viral pathogens.
Do atmospheric plastics act as fomites for novel viruses?
This perspective paper asks whether atmospheric plastic particles could act as physical carriers for viruses, potentially aiding viral transmission through the air. The authors argue this is a plausible but unexplored mechanism given that microplastics are already found in human lungs and can harbor biofilms.
Microplastics and Macroplastic Debris as Potential Physical Vectors of SARS-CoV-2: A Hypothetical Overview with Implications for Public Health
This hypothesis paper proposes that macro- and microplastic debris could act as physical vectors for SARS-CoV-2 transmission, reviewing evidence on viral persistence on plastic surfaces and the surge in pandemic-related plastic waste. The authors argue that plastic pollution represents an underexamined dimension of COVID-19 transmission risk, particularly in coastal and aquatic environments.
It’s a matter of microbes: a perspective on the microbiological aspects of micro- and nanoplastics in human health
Researchers highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of micro- and nanoplastic pollution: the microorganisms that colonize plastic particles and how they might affect human health. The study suggests that the microbial communities living on plastic surfaces, known as the plastisphere, could carry harmful bacteria into the human body through ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact, representing an additional health risk beyond the plastics themselves.
Pathogens transported by plastic debris: does this vector pose a risk to aquatic organisms?
This review examined whether microplastics act as vectors for pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Evidence indicates that diverse microorganisms including pathogens adhere to microplastic surfaces, and modeling suggested potential for long-range pathogen transport, though the scale of ecological and public health risk remains uncertain.
The impact of microplastics on small organism dispersal: mechanisms, risks, and research gaps
This review examines how microplastics may influence the dispersal of small organisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects, by serving as physical carriers across ecosystems. Researchers describe how biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces can harbor and transport pathogenic microorganisms to new locations. The study identifies this as an underexplored area with significant implications for disease ecology and biosecurity.
Micro(nano)plastics: Unignorable vectors for organisms
This review examines the role of micro- and nanoplastics as vectors for contaminants — including heavy metals, organic pollutants, and pathogens — in aquatic and terrestrial environments. It synthesizes evidence on how plastic particles can adsorb, transport, and release harmful substances, amplifying their ecological and health risks beyond the physical effects of the particles alone.
A review of the influence of environmental pollutants (microplastics, pesticides, antibiotics, air pollutants, viruses, bacteria) on animal viruses
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.
Viral diversity and potential environmental risk in microplastic at watershed scale: Evidence from metagenomic analysis of plastisphere
Metagenomic analysis of plastisphere communities on microplastics collected from five freshwater sites revealed diverse viral communities including phages and potential animal pathogens, with plastic-associated viromes differing from those in surrounding water. The study identifies microplastics as previously overlooked carriers of viral diversity and potential environmental health risks in aquatic ecosystems.
Plastic pollution and infectious diseases
Researchers reviewed how plastic pollution contributes to the spread of infectious diseases. The study suggests that plastic debris holding water can encourage arthropod-borne diseases by providing habitats for disease vectors, and that microplastic and nanoplastic particles may also interact with pathogens in ways that affect disease transmission in both humans and livestock.
Plastics and Microplastics as Vectors for Bacteria and Human Pathogens
This study reviewed how marine plastic debris serves as a surface for bacterial colonization, including human pathogens, and examined the novel communities forming on plastic surfaces. The research raises public health concerns about microplastics acting as rafts that transport harmful bacteria to new locations, including to seafood and coastal recreational areas.
Are microplastics spreading infectious disease?
Researchers explored whether microplastics in the environment could serve as vehicles for spreading infectious disease-causing organisms. Evidence indicates that bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens can attach to microplastic surfaces and potentially be transported across aquatic environments. The study raises important questions about a previously underappreciated pathway through which plastic pollution could affect public health.
Unraveling the effect of micro/nanoplastics on the occurrence and horizontal transfer of environmental antibiotic resistance genes: Advances, mechanisms and future prospects
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. The tiny plastic particles create conditions that help bacteria exchange resistance genes more easily by generating oxidative stress, making cell membranes more permeable, and providing surfaces where resistant bacteria can form communities. This is a growing public health concern because antibiotic-resistant infections are increasingly difficult to treat.
Microplastics as vectors of environmental contaminants: Interactions in the natural ecosystems
This review examines how microplastics act as vectors for pathogens, persistent organic pollutants, and heavy metals in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, summarising evidence that these particles damage cell membranes, tissues, and physiological processes in exposed organisms.
Microplastics as potential carriers of viruses could prolong virus survival and infectivity
Researchers investigated whether microplastics can serve as carriers for viruses in aquatic environments, using bacteriophage T4 as a model virus with polystyrene microplastics. They found that viruses readily attached to microplastic surfaces and that this attachment prolonged both virus survival and infectivity compared to free-floating viruses. The findings suggest that microplastics in water systems could help spread viral contamination over longer distances and timeframes.