Did you know that a group of leopards is called a leap of leopards?
Bacteria hitchhiking in ballast water
Bacteria hitchhiking in ballast water Bacteria and viruses that cause human diseases
such as cholera are being transported between different countries
in the ballast water of ships. Ships pump water into their ballast
tanks to add stability during their voyages, and often dump this
water in overseas ports when they load up on heavy cargo. One study
showed that ballast water in ships entering Chesapeake Bay had, on
average, concentrations of 830 million bacteria, and 7.4 billion
virus-like particles per litre. All the water tested in this study
contained vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for human
cholera epidemics. Non-native marine species, such as Zebra
mussels, goby fish and the fishhook waterflea, have also been
introduced into North American waters through dumped ballast
water. NOVEMBER 2, 2000
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