The dangerous virus remains infectious in fresh water for up to three days by “hitchhiking” on plastic, researchers have found . They found that enteroviruses, such as rotavirus, that cause diarrhea and stomach upset can survive in water by attaching to tiny particles less than 5 millimeters in length. Researchers at the University of Stirling have found that they are still contagious and pose a potential health risk. Professor Richard Quilliam, lead researcher on the project at the University of Stirling, said: “We found that viruses can attach to microplastics, which allows them to survive in water for up to three days, possibly longer.” The research was conducted in a sterile environment, but this is the first study of how the virus behaves in the environment. He used standard laboratory methods to determine whether the virus found on microplastics in water was contagious. “We’re not sure how much viruses can survive in the environment by ‘hitchhiking’ on plastic, but they do survive and are still infectious,” he said. The findings are part of a research project aimed at In studying how plastics spread bacteria and viruses, it was concluded that microplastics allow pathogens to spread in the environment. The Natural Environment Research Council awarded the project $2.27 million. The research paper was published in the journal Environmental Pollution. “Staying infectious in the environment for three days is enough to get from a wastewater treatment plant to a public beach,” said Quilliam, who said wastewater treatment plants couldn’t capture microplastics. “Even as sewage treatment plants do their best to purify the sewage, the discharge water still contains microplastics, which are then sent down rivers to estuaries and eventually onto beaches.”
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