In the US, a new disease caused exclusively by plastic has been identified. sea ​​birds.

Birds identified as suffering from a disease called plasticosis have scars on their digestive systems from ingesting waste, scientists at London’s Natural History Museum report.

The researchers note that this is the first recorded fibrosis caused solely by plastic in the wild.

As stated in research published in the Journal of Hazardous Materialsplastic pollution is so common that scarring on the digestive tract of birds is extensive at every possible age.

Young seabirds have been found to have the disease, and it is believed that the chicks were fed plastic unknowingly brought in by their parents.

Scientists studied mussels from Lord Howe Island in Australia to determine the relationship between the amount of plastic ingested and the pre-abdomen, the first part of the bird’s digestive system.

They found that the more plastic a bird ingested, the more damage was done to that particular organ. The disease can lead to the gradual disintegration of the tubular glands of the pre-abdominal gland. The loss of these glands can make birds more susceptible to infections and parasites and affect their ability to digest and absorb certain vitamins.

When birds ingest small pieces of plastic, it irritates the digestive system. Over time, persistent inflammation in turn causes scarring and tissue deformity, affecting digestion, growth, and survival itself.

natural materials which scientists have found in the stomachs of birds, such as pumice, they don’t cause the same problemswhich prompted scientists to name the disease after plastic.

“While these birds may look healthy, inside they are not all right. This is the first study of stomach tissue in this way, and it shows that the consumption of plastic can cause serious damage to the digestive system of these birds, ”explains the doctor. Alex Bond, Chief Curator of the Natural History Museum.

Although scientists have studied only one species of bird in one particular corner of the world, they suspect that many more species are affected and further research is needed to establish the extent of “plasticization”.

As they say, the impact of plastic on all organisms is inevitable, since plastic pollution has now reached pandemic proportions in all environments of the planet.

^{Source: Guardian}