Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics as the potential reservoir and carrier of viral pathogens detected from hospital sewage

Microplastics were shown to serve as a reservoir and carrier for viral particles in aquatic environments, with plastic surfaces harboring and potentially protecting viruses from degradation. This raises concerns about microplastics facilitating the environmental spread and persistence of waterborne pathogens.

2025 Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-affected pathogens in drinking water supply systems: Survival mechanisms, ecological impacts and control challenges

This review synthesized evidence on how microplastics in drinking water supply systems affect pathogen behavior, focusing on opportunistic pathogens. Microplastics were found to enhance pathogen survival, promote antibiotic resistance gene transfer, and facilitate biofilm formation, with implications for the safety of treated drinking water.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

Particulate contaminants and treatment decision-making: maximizing the value of raw water pathogen monitoring for drinking water safety

This review examines how particulate contaminants are monitored in source and drinking water, arguing that better characterization of particles including microplastics should be integrated into treatment decision-making frameworks to improve the protection of public water supplies.

2025 Journal of Water and Health
Article Tier 2

Quantification of Particle-Associated Viruses in Secondary Treated Wastewater Effluent

This study measured how viruses in treated wastewater attach to suspended particles, which can shield them from disinfection. Researchers found that a significant portion of viruses in secondary-treated wastewater effluent are particle-associated, meaning standard disinfection doses may not fully inactivate all viruses before the water is reused or discharged.

2025 Food and Environmental Virology 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Viral Eco-Genomic Tools: Development and Implementation for Aquatic Biomonitoring

This review provides a comprehensive overview of eco-genomic tools for detecting enteric viruses in aquatic environments, covering conventional and next-generation sequencing approaches. The authors recommend integrating multiple detection platforms and conducting year-round sampling to accurately assess waterborne virus burdens.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Viral Metagenomics as a Tool to Track Sources of Fecal Contamination: A One Health Approach

This review evaluates viral metagenomics as a tool for tracking sources of fecal contamination across water, food, soil, and air within a One Health framework. Researchers found that viral metagenomics can complement traditional culture and PCR-based methods by identifying a broader range of viral indicators with narrow host ranges. The study discusses both the promise and current limitations of this approach, including challenges in sample processing and bioinformatics analysis.

2023 Viruses 28 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic biofilms in water treatment systems: Fate and risks of pathogenic bacteria, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes

This review examines how microplastics in drinking water and wastewater treatment plants develop biofilms that harbor dangerous bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. The biofilm-coated microplastics can protect pathogens from disinfection processes, allowing them to survive treatment and potentially reach tap water. This raises concerns about microplastics serving as vehicles for antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our water supply.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 50 citations
Article Tier 2

About food safety, viruses and fish

This review examines foodborne viruses associated with fish and fish products, synthesizing evidence on how contaminated water and food handlers transmit viral pathogens through the food chain and outlining regulatory and microbiological control measures for public health.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics ofBroad Size Range Reduce BacteriophageActivity in Aqueous Environments

Researchers showed that microplastics of varying sizes reduce bacteriophage activity in water by adsorbing viral particles, potentially weakening the ecological role of phages in controlling bacterial populations in contaminated aquatic environments. (Duplicate record of ID 11205.)

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Drinking Water: A Review of Sources, Removal, Detection, Occurrence, and Potential Risks

This review examines how microplastics enter drinking water supply systems, evaluates methods for their detection and removal, and summarizes what is known about their occurrence in treated water. Researchers found that while conventional water treatment removes a significant portion of microplastics, no current method eliminates them completely. The study highlights the need for improved monitoring standards and further research into the long-term health effects of ingesting microplastics through drinking water.

2025 Toxics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics via drinking water treatment: Current knowledge and future directions

This review examines what is currently known about microplastics in drinking water systems and how well existing water treatment processes remove them. Researchers found that while conventional treatment steps like coagulation and filtration do reduce microplastic levels, significant amounts can still persist through to tap water. The study calls for more research into optimizing treatment processes and developing monitoring strategies specifically targeting microplastic contamination in drinking water.

2020 Chemosphere 386 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic mediated bacterial contamination in water distribution systems as an emerging public health threat

This scoping review examines how microplastics enter and move through water distribution networks, their role as surfaces for bacterial attachment, and the mechanisms by which they amplify public health threats from waterborne pathogens in drinking water systems.

2025 Discover Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Co-transport of Microplastics and a surrogate for Human Enteric Viruses in a saturated column packed with Quartz Sand

Laboratory column experiments found that microplastics can enhance the transport of a virus surrogate (PRD1 bacteriophage) through soil, suggesting that microplastics may act as carriers that help human enteric viruses travel further into groundwater systems. This is a meaningful public health concern, as it implies microplastics could amplify the risk of viral contamination in drinking water sources.

2023 ARPHA Conference Abstracts
Article Tier 2

Potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through microplastics in sewage: A wastewater-based epidemiological review

This review investigated whether microplastics in sewage systems could serve as carriers for SARS-CoV-2 transmission, finding that the virus can adsorb onto microplastic surfaces in wastewater, suggesting a potential but understudied pathway for viral spread through water systems.

2023 Environmental Pollution 8 citations
Review Tier 2

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.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Environment International 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Contamination and Removal Efficiency of Microplastics and Synthetic Fibres in a Conventional Drinking Water Treatment Plant

Researchers found that a conventional drinking water treatment plant in Geneva removed the majority of microplastics from raw water, with coagulation and sand filtration contributing most to removal, though some particles persisted through to finished drinking water.

2022 Frontiers in Water 33 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics in water: diagnosis and human health risk analysis

This systematic review summarizes existing research on microplastic contamination in drinking water and assesses the potential risks to human health. The findings confirm that microplastics are present in water intended for consumption, and while the exact health effects are still being studied, the evidence suggests we should take precautions to reduce our exposure.

2023 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Hygienic approaches to the safety levels identification of microplastics in water

Researchers developed a program of analytical and toxicological studies to establish safety levels for microplastics in water, addressing the international classification of microplastics as a new health hazard. The study combined literature analysis with sanitary-chemical and sanitary-microbiological experiments to propose indicators and criteria for assessing microplastic danger in water. The findings aim to support the development of regulatory standards for microplastic contamination in drinking water.

2026 Hygiene and Sanitation
Article Tier 2

Microplastics ofBroad Size Range Reduce BacteriophageActivity in Aqueous Environments

Microplastics across a broad size range adsorb bacteriophages in aqueous environments and reduce their lytic activity, with potential consequences for microbial community dynamics and pathogen control in plastic-contaminated waters. (Duplicate record of ID 11205.)

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Analysis of the Efficiency of Drinking Water Treatment Systems in the Removal of Microplastics

Researchers analysed the efficiency of drinking water treatment systems in removing microplastics — primarily PET, PP, PS, and PVC fibres and fragments — from source water, reviewing how physical, chemical, and biological treatment stages contribute to reduction. The review also evaluates associated health risks including inflammation, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and genetic damage linked to microplastic exposure via drinking water.

2024 Universidad Industrial de Santander
Article Tier 2

A critical review on recent research progress on microplastic pollutants in drinking water

This critical review synthesizes research on microplastic contamination in drinking water sources and treatment systems. The study highlights that microplastics have been found in rivers, lakes, and treatment facilities worldwide, and that bioaccumulation of these persistent particles through drinking water represents a potential concern that requires further investigation into health effects and improved removal technologies.

2023 Environmental Research 70 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as potential barriers to ultraviolet light emitting diode inactivation of MS2 bacteriophage: Influence of water-quality parameters

Researchers investigated whether microplastics in water could interfere with UV-LED disinfection, a common method used to kill viruses in drinking water. They found that PVC microplastics can shield viruses from UV light, reducing disinfection effectiveness, especially at higher microplastic concentrations and under certain water chemistry conditions. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in water sources may compromise the safety of UV-based water treatment.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations