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Scientists have recently detected the presence of a new disease on seabirds in Australia. Dubbing it "plasticosis," they describe this pathology as characterized by an inflammation of the birds' digestive systems, caused by the ingestion of plastic particles.
Scientists have recently detected the presence of a new disease on seabirds in Australia. Dubbing it "plasticosis," they describe this pathology as characterized by an inflammation of the birds' digestive systems, caused by the ingestion of plastic particles.
This new pathology is a condition affecting marine birds in Australia. As a result of ingesting fragments of plastic waste, these birds end up developing an inflammation in their digestive tracts. These cases of "plasticosis" have been observed by an international team of UK and Australia-based researchers. Published in The Journal of Hazardous Materials, their study was carried out on about 20 deceased seabirds (Flesh-footed Shearwater fledglings) from Australia's Lord Howe island. The bodies of these seabirds were collected between April 28 and May 8, 2021 and analyzed shortly after death.
The results revealed a high presence of plastic in the stomach and gizzard of the shearwaters examined. Plasticosis is a disease of fibrotic origin, meaning it results in the formation of extensive scar tissue. "Plastic presence was highly associated with widespread scar tissue formation and extensive changes to, and even loss of, tissue structure within the mucosa and submucosa," the researchers state.
According to the study, these cases of plasticosis can be explained by the fact that these marine birds do not separate the natural nutrients found on the beaches from the plastic fragments of waste that mixes with their food source. The authors of this work state unequivocally: "Pathology was caused directly by the plastic, rather than natural items, such as pumice." A discovery that is all the more worrying insofar as it could affect other animal species (potentially even humans) in other parts of the world too.
According to a WWF report published last year, plastic pollution is expected to double by 2040 and quadruple by 2050. The NGO sounds the alarm for marine ecosystems: "[P]rojected growth of plastic pollution is likely to result in many areas suffering significant ecological risks," it warned.
