Microbial stowaways: Are ships spreading disease?
Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 10:14
in Health & Medicine
Ships are inadvertently carrying trillions of stowaways in the water held in their ballast tanks. When the water is pumped out, invasive species could be released into new environments. Disease-causing microbes could also be released, posing a risk to public health, according to an article in the May issue of Microbiology Today.