For the first time in seabirds, British and Australian researchers have discovered a new disease caused entirely by plastic. The British newspaper "The Guardian" reported on the 3rd citing researchers that this is the first time researchers have found plastic-induced fibrotic disease in wild animals. They called this fibrotic disease plastic disease to clarify that it is triggered by plastics in the environment.
For the past 10 years, researchers from the British Natural History Museum and related Australian institutions have been studying seabirds on Lord Howe Island, Australia. The study included light-footed shearwaters, which are considered to be the world's most plastic-contaminated birds due to their frequent ingestion of plastic. Researchers found that the digestive tract of pale footed shearwaters becomes inflamed after ingesting plastic debris. Over time, persistent inflammation can lead to scarring of the tissue. The more plastic you ingest, the more scarring there is in the glandular stomach. Over time, the fibrosis of the ductal glands inside the glandular stomach and the gradual decline of their function lead to their greater susceptibility to infection and parasitic infestation, which in turn affects the digestion of food and the ability to absorb some of the vitamins, involving the growth and even the survival of pale fulmars.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia
