In Australia, seabirds suffer from plasticosis, a pathology affecting the digestive organs, which is caused by the ingestion of plastic waste.
- Cases of digestive fibrosis caused by the ingestion of plastic waste have been recorded in young pale-footed shearwaters in Australia.
- Plasticosis is a fibrotic disease caused by small pieces of plastic that inflame the digestive tract.
- Inflammation causes scarring, tissue deformation, and breakdown of the tubular glands in the proventriculus, leading to digestive problems and making birds more susceptible to infection.
Recently, scientists, including professionals working at England’s Natural History Museum, reported that plastic pollution was making seabirds sick. In a study published in the journal Journal of Hazardous Materialsthe team revealed that these animals had plasticosis.
What is plasticosis affecting the digestive tract?
This is a type of fibrotic disease, which is caused by small pieces of plastic that inflame the digestive tract. “Over time, persistent inflammation causes tissue to scar and distort, leading to problems with digestion, growth and survival,” can we read on the museum website.
In detail, the scarring caused by plasticosis affects the physical structure of the proventriculus, the first part of a bird’s stomach, causing the organ to harden and lose flexibility. As exposure to plastic increases, the tissue becomes progressively more puffy until it begins to break down.
In addition, this pathology can cause the progressive degradation of the tubular glands of the proventriculus. Loss of these glands can make birds more susceptible to infection and parasites and affect their ability to digest food and absorb certain vitamins.
Cases of digestive fibrosis caused by the ingestion of plastic in birds
To arrive at the discovery of this new disease, the researchers focused on young pale-footed shearwaters in Australia. “Highly impacted by plastic ingestion, these seabirds are an appropriate species to examine these impacts in an environmentally relevant way,” they indicated. The authors used Masson’s trichrome staining to document any signs of plastic-induced fibrosis, using collagen as a marker for scar tissue formation in the seabird proventriculus.
“The presence of plastic has been strongly associated with extensive scar tissue formation and significant changes or even loss of tissue structure in the mucosa and submucosa,” explained the team. According Dr. Alexander Bondco-author of the works, “While these birds look healthy on the outside, they don’t do well on the inside.”
He clarified that, while plasticosis was only known so far for one species, the scale of plastic pollution shows that it could be much more widespread. Clearly, it could even have repercussions on human health.
