In The Mediterranean Sea, Microfibers Host Bacteria That -

The Ocean Viking rescue ship sails off the coast of the island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean Sea … [+] on September 15, 2019, with in foreground the “Porta di Lampedusa”, known as “The door of Europe”, a monument to the migrants who have died in the Mediterranean, located at the point where Europe is the closest to Africa. – Italy on September 14 agreed to allow rescue ship Ocean Viking to disembark 82 migrants on the southern island of Lampedusa after six days at sea following a European deal to distribute them. (Photo by Alessandro SERRANO / AFP) / Italy OUT (Photo credit should read ALESSANDRO SERRANO/AFP via Getty Images)

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Thanks to plastic pollution, fishing activities, and the textile industry that release huge amounts of microfibers into the Mediterranean Sea, almost 200 species of bacteria are thriving by making these minute pollutants their forever homes. In a new study published in PLOS One, researchers further found that one of those species of bacteria are infamous for causing food poisoning.

Microfiber pollution is rampant in coastal areas and 50% consists of synthetic fibers. The other half are usually made up of natural fibers from wool and cotton. While little is known about how and when microfibers disintegrate, they severely impact marine animals and entire marine ecosystems — thereby posing a major threat to human health as well.

Plastic microfibers are also the most common type of human-made particles in the oceans and are responsible for 80% to 90% of microplastics that are emitted in the environment. Marine animals ingest these microfibers after they are colonized by bacteria by mistaking them for food and can contaminate entire food chains in that process.

The Mediterranean Sea accounts for approximately 7% of microplastic in oceans worldwide. A team of researchers investigated what species of bacteria live within microfibers floating in the Mediterranean Sea by using advanced microscopy techniques and DNA sequencing. They found around 2,600 bacteria cells that belong to 195 species thriving on every single microfiber in the sea. This includes Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium found in seafood that is responsible for causing food poisoning.

“This study raises the question of whether the increasing amount of persistent plastic waste in the environment may influence the dynamics of various hitchhikers offering greater transport opportunities, thus leading to an increased risk of contamination compared to other short-lived natural particles, such as wood or sediments,” the researchers wrote in their study.

“Considering that synthetic fibers can serve as a vector for potentially pathogenic microorganisms and other pollutants in the ocean, due to their longevity, this type of pollution may have ecological and economic consequences,” they added. “Human discharges of chemicals and plastics into continents and oceans have reached a critical threshold, and plastic pollution meets the criteria for planetary boundary threats.”