Viruses Can Survive in Fresh Water By Clinging To Plastic Waste

Infections can get by in new water by gripping minuscule bits of plastic, representing a likely danger to general wellbeing, as per another review.

According to a new study by Yale University, Viruses are able to thrive in freshwater by clinging to plastic pieces which are scattered around the water.

Scientists found that rotavirus, which causes loose bowels, can stay irresistible for as long as three days when bound to microplastics. The discoveries recommend that gastrointestinal infections found in sewage could enter streams by connecting to smidgens of plastic waste.

“Even if a wastewater treatment plant is doing everything it can to clean sewage waste, the water discharged still has microplastics in it, which are then transported down the river, into the estuary, and end up on the beach,” said Richard Quilliam, a professor of environment and health at Stirling University in Scotland and coauthor of the study. “We weren’t sure how well viruses could survive by ‘hitch-hiking’ on plastic in the environment, but they do survive, and they do remain infectious.”

We have to stop Microplastics and normal plastic pollution to make our beloved earth a better place to live!!

Author: Sri Nihal Tammana

Source: Yale Environment 360