Microplastics Can Carry Parasites to Ocean, Affecting Wildlife and Human Health

微塑料可以将寄生虫带到海洋，影响野生动物和人类健康

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A piece of microplastic fiber is shown under a microscope with biofilm (fuzzy blue) and T. gondii (blue dot) and giardia (green dot) pathogens. Credit: Karen Shapiro, UC Davis

显微镜下显示的一块微塑料纤维带有生物膜（模糊蓝色）和T.弓形虫（蓝点）和贾第鞭毛虫（绿点）病原体。图片来源：加州大学戴维斯分校的凯伦夏皮罗

According to a new study by the University of California, Davis, microplastics are a pathway for land-based parasites to reach the ocean, with potential ramifications for human and wildlife health.

病原体可以塑料搭便车到达海洋

根据加州大学戴维斯分校的一项新研究，微塑料是陆地寄生虫进入海洋的途径，对人类和野生动物的健康具有潜在的影响。

The study, published today (April 26, 2022) in the journal Scientific Reports, is the first to connect microplastics in the ocean with land-based pathogens. It found that microplastics can make it easier for disease-causing pathogens to concentrate in plastic-contaminated areas of the ocean.

该研究于今天（2022 年4 月26 日）发表在《科学报告》杂志上，首次将海洋中的微塑料与陆地病原体联系起来。研究发现，微塑料可以使致病病原体更容易集中在海洋塑料污染区域。

The pathogens studied—Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium (Crypto) and Giardia—can infect both humans and animals. They are recognized by the World Health Organization as underestimated causes of illness from shellfish consumption and are found throughout the ocean.

研究的病原体（刚地弓形虫、隐孢子虫（Crypto）和贾第鞭毛虫）可以感染人类和动物。 它们被世界卫生组织认定为被低估的食用贝类疾病的原因，并且在整个海洋中都有发现。

“It’s easy for people to dismiss plastic problems as something that doesn’t matter for them, like, ‘I’m not a turtle in the ocean; I won’t choke on this thing,’” said corresponding author Karen Shapiro, an infectious disease expert and associate professor in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “But once you start talking about disease and health, there’s more power to implement change. Microplastics can actually move germs around, and these germs end up in our water and our food.”

“人们很容易将塑料问题视为对它们无关紧要的事情，例如，‘我不是海里的乌龟；我不会因为这件事而窒息，”通讯作者、加州大学戴维斯分校兽医学院传染病专家兼副教授凯伦夏皮罗说。“但一旦你开始谈论疾病和健康，就有更大的力量来实施变革。 微塑料实际上可以移动细菌，这些细菌最终会进入我们的水和食物中。”

A piece of microplastic fiber and pathogens with biofilm (fuzzy blue). The pathogens shown are T. gondii (blue dot) and giardia (green dot). Credit: Karen Shapiro, UC Davis

一块微塑料纤维和带有生物膜的病原体（模糊蓝色）。显示的病原体是T弓形虫（蓝点）和贾第鞭毛虫（绿点）。图片来源：加州大学戴维斯分校的凯伦夏皮罗

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters, no bigger than a grain of rice. They’ve contaminated waters as remote as Antarctica. The study’s findings indicate that, by hitchhiking on microplastics, pathogens can disperse throughout the ocean, reaching places a land parasite would normally never be found.

人类和动物的问题

微塑料是小于 5 毫米的微小塑料颗粒，不比一粒米大。它们污染了远至南极洲的水域。该研究的结果表明，通过在微塑料上搭便车，病原体可以散布在整个海洋中，到达通常不会发现陆地寄生虫的地方。

T. GONDII, a parasite found only in cat poop, has infected many ocean species with the disease toxoplasmosis. UC Davis and its partners have a long history of research connecting the parasite to sea otter deaths. It’s also killed critically endangered wildlife, including Hector’s dolphins and Hawaiian monk seals. In people, toxoplasmosis can cause life-long illnesses, as well as developmental and reproductive disorders.
T弓形虫是一种仅在猫粪便中发现的寄生虫，它已经感染了许多海洋物种，使它们患上了弓形虫病。加州大学戴维斯分校及其合作伙伴在将寄生虫与海獭死亡联系起来的研究方面有着悠久的历史。T弓形虫病还杀死了极度濒危的野生动物，包括赫克托海豚和夏威夷僧海豹。在人类中，弓形虫病可导致终生疾病，以及发育和生殖障碍。
CRYPTO and GIARDIA cause gastrointestinal disease and can be deadly in young children and people who are immunocompromised.
CRYPTO 和贾第鞭毛虫会导致胃肠道疾病，对幼儿和免疫功能低下的人可能是致命的。
“This is very much a problem that affects both humans and animals,” said first author Emma Zhang, a fourth-year veterinary student with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “It highlights the importance of a One Health approach that requires collaboration across human, wildlife and environmental disciplines. We all depend on the ocean environment.”
“这在很大程度上是一个影响人类和动物的问题，”第一作者、加州大学戴维斯分校兽医学院四年级兽医学生 Emma Zhang 说。 “它强调了一个健康方法的重要性，需要人类、野生动物和环境学科的合作。我们都依赖于海洋环境。”

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Emma Zhang, first author on a study connecting microplastics and pathogens in the ocean, works in the lab at the University of California, Davis. Credit: Courtesy Emma Zhang, UC Davis

Emma Zhang 是一项将海洋中的微塑料与病原体联系起来的研究的第一作者，她在加州大学戴维斯分校的实验室工作。图片来源：由加州大学戴维斯分校的 Emma Zhang 提供

For the study, the authors conducted laboratory experiments to test whether the selected pathogens can associate with plastics in sea water. They used two different types of microplastics: polyethylene microbeads and polyester microfibers. Microbeads are often found in cosmetics, such as exfoliants and cleansers, while microfibers are in clothing and fishing nets.

微珠和超细纤维

在这项研究中，作者进行了实验室实验，以测试选定的病原体是否可以与海水中的塑料相关联。他们使用了两种不同类型的微塑料：聚乙烯微珠和聚酯超细纤维。微珠经常出现在去角质剂和清洁剂等化妆品中，而微纤维则出现在衣服和渔网中。

The scientists found that more parasites adhered to microfibers than to microbeads, though both types of plastic can carry land pathogens. The wispy particles of microfibers are common in California’s waters and have been found in shellfish.

科学家们发现，与微珠相比，附着在微纤维上的寄生虫更多，尽管这两种塑料都可以携带陆地病原体。纤细的微纤维颗粒在加利福尼亚的水域中很常见，并且已在贝类中发现。

The authors say plastic makes it easier for pathogens to reach sea life in several ways, depending on whether the plastic particles sink or float.

病原体的途径

作者说，塑料使病原体更容易以多种方式进入海洋生物，具体取决于塑料颗粒是下沉还是漂浮。

Microplastics that float along the surface can travel long distances, spreading pathogens far from their sources on land. Plastics that sink may concentrate pathogens in the benthos environment, near the bottom of the sea. That’s where filter-feeding animals like zooplankton, clams, mussels, oysters, abalone and other shellfish live, increasing the likelihood of their ingesting both plastic and pathogens.

漂浮在表面的微塑料可以旅行很远的距离，将病原体传播到远离陆地的源头。 下沉的塑料可能会将病原体集中在海底附近的底栖生物环境中。这就是浮游动物、蛤蜊、贻贝、牡蛎、鲍鱼和其他贝类等滤食性动物生活的地方，增加了它们摄入塑料和病原体的可能性。

“When plastics are thrown in, it fools invertebrates,” Shapiro said. “We’re altering natural food webs by introducing this human-made material that can also introduce deadly parasites.”

“当塑料被扔进去时，它会愚弄无脊椎动物，”夏皮罗说。“我们正在通过引入这种也可以引入致命寄生虫的人造材料来改变天然食物网。”

Co-author Chelsea Rochman, a plastic-pollution expert and assistant professor of ecology at the University of Toronto, said there are several ways humans can help reduce the impacts of microplastics in the ocean. She notes that microfibers are commonly shed in washing machines and can reach waterways via wastewater systems.

减少塑料

共同作者、多伦多大学塑料污染专家和生态学助理教授切尔西罗赫曼说，人类可以通过多种方式帮助减少微塑料对海洋的影响。她指出，超细纤维通常在洗衣机中脱落，并且可以通过废水系统到达水路。

“This work demonstrates the importance of preventing sources of microplastics to our oceans,” said Rochman. “Mitigation strategies include filters on washing machines, filters on dryers, bioretention cells or other technologies to treat stormwater, and best management practices to prevent microplastic release from plastic industries and construction sites.”

“这项工作证明了防止微塑料进入我们的海洋的重要性，”罗赫曼说。“缓解策略包括洗衣机上的过滤器、烘干机上的过滤器、生物滞留池或其他处理雨水的技术，以及防止塑料工业和建筑工地释放微塑料的最佳管理实践。”