Microplastics may contribute to drug-resistant bacteria

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The microplastics that pollute the environment and increasingly find their way into humans and animals can help bacteria become drug resistant, according to new research.

E. coli bacteria exposed to microplastics in test tubes became resistant to multiple types of commonly used antibiotics, Boston University researchers said in a report published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, on Mar 11.

Even when the microplastics were removed from the test tubes, the bacteria retained the ability to form stronger biofilms, the researchers also found.