Led by Boston University academics, the research highlights that environmental and other problems caused by microplastics are now joined by their potential effect on increasing antibiotic resistance.

Microplastics are known to harbor bacterial communities on their surfaces, a phenomenon called plastisphere.

These residues also favor the development of antimicrobial resistance, even without the presence of antibiotics, the authors stress in their article published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Addressing plastic contamination is not only an environmental issue, but a public health priority in the fight against drug-resistant infections, stressed Neila Gross, lead author of the study.

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