Plastic Debris As a Vector for Bacterial Disease: An Interdisciplinary Systematic Review
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Published on: July 28, 2018
Charlotte J Beloe1, Mark Anthony Browne1, Emma L Johnston1
1School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia.
Abstract:
Pathogens and polymers can separately cause disease; however, environmental and medical researchers are increasingly investigating the capacity of polymers to transfer pathogenic bacteria, and cause disease, to hosts in new environments. We integrated causal frameworks from ecology and epidemiology into one interdisciplinary framework with four stages (colonization, survival, transfer, disease). We then systematically and critically reviewed 111 environmental and medical papers. We show 58% of studies investigated the colonization-stage alone but used this as evidence to classify a substratum as a vector. Only 11% of studies identified potential pathogens, with only 3% of studies confirming the presence of virulence-genes. Further, 8% of studies investigated μm-sized polymers with most (58%) examining less pervasive cm-sized polymers. No study showed bacteria can preferentially colonize, survive, transfer, and cause more disease on polymers compared to other environmental media. One laboratory experiment demonstrated plausibility for polymers to be colonized by a potential pathogen (Escherichia coli), survive, transfer, and cause disease in coral (Astrangia poculata). Our analysis shows a need for linked structured surveys with environmentally relevant experiments to understand patterns and processes across the vectoral stages, so that the risks and impacts of pathogens on polymers can be assessed with more certainty.
Insights
Polymers can transfer pathogenic bacteria, but research often overlooks crucial stages like survival and disease transmission. More comprehensive studies are needed to assess polymer-associated disease risks accurately.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Pathogens and polymers are individually linked to disease.
- Emerging research explores polymers as vectors for pathogenic bacteria transmission to hosts.
- Understanding this interaction is crucial for environmental and medical fields.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate ecological and epidemiological causal frameworks to analyze polymer-mediated pathogen transfer.
- To systematically review existing literature on polymers as vectors for pathogenic bacteria.
- To identify research gaps in understanding the full disease transmission cycle.
Main Methods:
- Developed an interdisciplinary framework with four stages: colonization, survival, transfer, and disease.
- Conducted a systematic and critical review of 111 environmental and medical research papers.
- Analyzed the scope and depth of research concerning polymers and pathogenic bacteria.
Main Results:
- Most studies (58%) focused only on the colonization stage, misclassifying substrata as vectors.
- Few studies identified pathogens (11%) or confirmed virulence genes (3%).
- Research predominantly examined larger (cm-sized) polymers, neglecting smaller (μm-sized) ones, and no study proved preferential bacterial colonization, survival, transfer, or disease causation on polymers versus other media.
Conclusions:
- Current research on polymers as pathogen vectors is limited, often focusing on single stages and lacking pathogen confirmation.
- There is a significant need for integrated studies combining field surveys and relevant experiments to understand the complete pathogen-polymer interaction.
- More robust research is required to accurately assess the risks and impacts of polymer-associated pathogens.
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