(ORDO NEWS) — A new disease – “plasticosis” – is associated with the accumulation of microplastics.
Using the example of sea petrels, it has been shown that, entering the body with water and food, such particles lead to scarring of the tissues of internal organs and severe digestive disorders.
Slow decomposition of garbage, washing of synthetic fabrics, abrasion of car tires on the road surface and other processes fill the environment with microplastic particles.
Getting into living organisms with food, water and even air, they are able to penetrate tissues and cells, accumulate and start dangerous processes, often leading to death.
Scientists are discovering microplastics in humans and animals across the planet, from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
Biologists from London’s Natural History Museum have studied the processes associated with the accumulation of microplastics in seabirds.
The new disease was called “plasticosis” (plasticosis), by analogy with other fibroses – pathological growths of connective tissues due to chronic inflammation.
Thick-billed shearwaters have been a key focus of research for Alex Bond and colleagues . These birds, which live in the Pacific Ocean, are considered one of the main victims of microplastic pollution of the seas.
After studying their digestive tract, scientists found that pathogenic particles accumulate primarily in the first, glandular section of the stomach.
This leads to clogged glandular ducts and blocks the release of enzymes, impairing the ability to extract nutrients from food and increasing the risk of infections.
In some cases, petrels can literally starve to death after accumulating too much plastic. But even if its volumes are not so large, the birds gain less mass and do not grow to their normal size.
In the tissues of the digestive tract of petrels, scientists have noticed pathological changes characteristic of fibrotic diseases.
This happens, for example, under the influence of asbestos: chronic inflammation does not allow tissues to recover normally and leads to the spread of scars.
These scars are made up mostly of collagen and are unable to perform their normal functions.
The new article describes the symptoms of plasticosis only for the digestive system of petrels.
However, scientists are confident that similar pathological changes can affect other parts of the body, including the lungs, and, of course, other animal species that absorb microplastic particles with almost every bite of food and every sip of water.
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