An international team of researchers from USA, Australia, Monaco and Myanmar identified more than 5,000 human pathogens and more than 1,000 microdebris particles in seawater and oysters from the eastern Andaman Sea of Myanmar.
People living in the rural but densely populated coastal regions in Myanmar depend on artisanal fishing for livelihoods, however with rapid development and coastal urbanisation, comes agriculture and human pollution.
More than half of the pathogens were found to be detrimental to human health, and as oysters are typically consumed raw and whole, the findings highlight the importance of wastewater management not only for the region, but globally.
Researchers collected samples of seawater, sediment and oyster gill tissues to analyse for human bacterial pathogens, and the same for microdebris analysis, except using whole oyster tissue this time.
Gill tissues were used as researchers said it was an entry point for pathogens into the oyster’s body.
The researchers detected 5,459 human bacterial pathogens belonging to 87 species in all three types of samples via DNA-sequencing.
Researchers said the uptake of microplastics in the marine environment could have far-reaching consequences for human consumption of seafood and can be an emerging risk to public health globally.
The large proportion of milk formula particles found in this study was of particular interest, suggesting a direct faecal-oral link between human waste and sewage making its way back into the food chain, potentially elevating the risk of contamination or disease transmission.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, Division of Data Research and Policy, less than one-quarter of all children under six months in Myanmar are exclusively fed breast milk, highlighting extensive use of milk formulas.
The prominence of milk formulas detected in oysters suggest that further work need to be explored on milk powders as a potential persistent organic pollutant.
Overall, the findings revealed that both types of contaminants, pathogens and microparticles reflected the presence of sewage and pollution from human and agriculture sources.
“Coastal urbanization influences human pathogens and microdebris contamination in seafood”.