Plastic pollution is a growing problem, not at least in areas where poor waste management results in direct pollution of coastal zones, such as South Asia and regions in Africa. In addition to the effect on ecosystems and their related services, plastic pollution may also affect human health indirectly as vectors for infectious disease. As plastic offers a suitable surface for the attachment of biofilm forming bacteria, it may contribute to disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance. To investigate the role of plastic litter as potential vectors for pathogenic bacteria, we collected plastic litter from four rural sites in Zanzibar, and isolated adhered bacteria. Isolates were short-read sequenced for further molecular analysis. This revealed that collected plastic litter was associated with diverse bacterial species, including human pathogens Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Vibrio cholerae. Furthermore, most isolates were found to be multidrug resistant. Our findings confirm that plastic litter, serve as novel reservoir for human multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria that combined with poor sanitation and waste handling, may lead to transmission of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. These findings add a new level to the environmental challenges with plastic pollution; the potential health risk associated with exposure to plastic litter.

塑料污染是一个日益严重的问题，至少在废物管理不善导致沿海地区如南亚和非洲地区直接污染的地区尤其如此。除了对生态系统及其相关服务产生影响外，塑料污染还可能作为传染病的媒介间接影响人类健康。由于塑料为附着生物膜形成细菌提供了合适的表面，因此可能会导致疾病爆发和耐药性增加。为了研究塑料垃圾作为致病细菌潜在载体的作用，我们从桑给巴尔的四个农村地点收集了塑料垃圾，并分离了粘附的细菌。对分离物进行短读测序以进行进一步的分子分析。这表明收集到的塑料垃圾与多种细菌种类有关，包括人类病原体弗氏柠檬酸杆菌，肺炎克雷伯菌和霍乱弧菌。此外，发现大多数分离株具有多重耐药性。我们的研究结果证实，塑料垃圾可作为人类多药耐药病原菌的新型储存库，加上卫生条件差和废物处理不善，可能导致传染病的传播和抗菌素耐药性。这些发现为塑料污染带来了新的环境挑战。接触塑料垃圾可能带来的潜在健康风险。