Researchers concerned over antibiotic resistance linked to viruses on plastics

Viruses living on plastic surfaces could be contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance, raising global environmental and public health concerns, researchers said in a new perspective article, highlighting the need for more research on viral behaviour on plastics.

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Plastics entering natural environments quickly become coated with microbial biofilms called the 'plastisphere', known to be hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes, the team, including researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

The article, published in the journal Biocontaminant, highlighted that viruses — which are among the most abundant biological entities on Earth — could be key players in moving the antibiotic resistance genes between microbes.