Researchers were stunned to discover that bacteria's antimicrobial resistance is strengthened when exposed to plastic particles.
11:57, 13 Mar 2025Updated 11:57, 13 Mar 2025
Microplastics can cause bacteria in our bodies to become resistant to antibiotics, a study has revealed(Image: Getty Images)
Microplastics are everywhere. Particles of plastic have been found making their way up food chains, in our oceans, inside clouds, and even in our bodies.
Scientists have scrambled to do all they can to uncover the hidden impacts of these teeny tiny pieces of plastic. And a team of researchers recently made a "staggering" discovery that could have serious health implications.
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An extremely concerning consequence of increased microplastics could be an increase in drug-resistant bacteria in our bodies, the scientists from Boston University have warned. The researchers found that bacteria exposed to microplastics became resistant to multiple types of antibiotics commonly used to treat infections,
People in high-density, impoverished areas like refugee settlements are more likely to be affected by this phenomenon, the scientists said, as discarded plastic piles up and bacterial infections spread easily in these areas. It's estimated that there are 4.95million deaths associated with antimicrobial-resistant infections each year.
Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics for a variety of reasons, including the misuse and overprescribing of medications. But the microenvironment, which is the immediate surroundings of a microbe, is also a massive contributing factor - and adding plastic to a bacteria's microenvironment can have major consequences.
The Boston University researchers, who published their study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, tested how a common bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), reacted to being in a closed environment with microplastics.
Bacteria can form a 'shield' against medicine when microplastics are introduced to its environment(Image: Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Neila Gross, a Boston Uni PhD candidate in materials science and engineering and lead author of the study, said: "The plastics provide a surface that the bacteria attach to and colonise."
Once attached to any surface, bacteria can create a sticky substance called a biofilm that acts as a shield, protecting the bacteria from external invaders. Bacteria can grow biofilms on any surface, but the study revealed that microplastics can "supercharge" the bacterial biofilms so much that when antibiotics are introduced, the medicine is unable to penetrate the shield.
Gross continued: "We found that the biofilms on microplastics, compared to other surfaces like glass, are much stronger and thicker, like a house with a ton of insulation. It was staggering to see."
The rate of antibiotic resistance on the microplastic was so shockingly high compared to other materials that the scientist performed each experiment multiple times, testing different combinations of antibiotics and types of plastic material. But the results remained consistent every time.
And this phenomenon may affect immigrants and displaced people more than any other group, the researchers said. Previous studies have found that refugees and asylum seekers are at an increased risk of contracting drug-resistant infections, due to living in overcrowded camps and being less able to receive healthcare.
Microplastics are more likely to accumulate in overcrowded refugee settlements, making displaced people at a higher risk of contracting resistant infections(Image: Getty Images)
Muhammad Zaman is a Boston University College of Engineering professor of biomedical engineering. He studies antimicrobial resistance and refugee and migrant health.
He said: "There is certainly a concern that this could present a higher risk in communities that are disadvantaged, and only underscores the need for more vigilance and a deeper insight into [microplastic and bacterial] interactions.
"Historically, people have associated antibiotic resistance with patient behaviour, like not taking antibiotics as prescribed. But there is nothing a person has done to be forced to live in a particular environment, and the fact is they are at a higher exposure to resistant infections."
He said that this is why the environmental and social causes of drug-resistant superbugs cannot be ignored. There were an estimated 122million displaced people worldwide in 2024.
Zaman explained that the prevalence of microplastics could add another element of risk to current health systems that serve refugees, which are already underfunded and understudied.
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"Too often, these issues are viewed from a lens of politics or international relations or immigration, and all of those are important, but the story that is often missing is the basic science," Zaman said. "We hope that this paper can get more scientists, engineers, and more researchers to think about these questions."
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