A University of Stirling-led study has proven ‘for the first time’ that viruses can survive and remain infectious by binding themselves to plastics in freshwater.
The learning institute warned that the findings raise concerns about the potential impact on human health, with Rotavirus – which causes diarrhoea – being found to survive up to three days in lake water by attaching itself to microplastics.
Professor Richard Quilliam, lead researcher on the project at the University of Stirling, explained, “We found that viruses can attach to microplastics, which allows them to survive in the water for three days, possibly longer.
“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. 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.
“Microplastics are so small that they could potentially be ingested by someone swimming, and sometimes they wash up on the beach as lentil-sized, brightly coloured pellets called nurdles that children might pick up and put in their mouths. It doesn’t take many virus particles to make you sick.
“And if the viruses then release themselves from the plastic into the water or the sand, their persistence in the environment is increased.”
The study forms part of a wider £1.85 million project, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which is investigating how plastics in the environment can help transport bacteria and viruses, and the impact that may have on human health.
