The risk of food poisoning increases because the ocean is warmer

The density of cholera-causing bacteria and food poisoning in seawater increases significantly due to rising temperatures in the oceans.

17 oceanographic research institutes in Europe have just published a report on ocean warming and the consequences of that situation. The report is compiled from more than 100 research projects funded by the European Union (EU). According to the report, an increase in the temperature in the oceans causes Vibrio - a bacterial strain capable of causing food poisoning, enteritis, blood infection, cholera - thriving, the AP reported.

'Health losses due to eating contaminated food, drinking water containing pathogens can reach millions of euros. Climate conditions are playing an increasingly large role in the transmission of diseases' , the report said.

Scientists also describe a series of consequences that ocean warming - such as melting ice, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, increasing numbers and strength of storms, acidification and reduction of oxygen in seawater. The pace of change in oceans also worries scientists.

'What surprised me the most was that every change in the oceans was happening faster than we thought , ' said Carlo Heip, director of the Dutch Marine Research Institute.

Heip said that in just a few decades, the number of fish in the North Sea has changed dramatically, with many large fish moving to the North Pole while small fish do not change their habitat.

Scientists began to pay attention to the increase in the density of Vibrio bacteria from the 60s.

'As temperatures in the North Sea began to increase in the late 1980s, the density of Vibrio bacteria also began to increase . In 2006, the number of people infected with inflammatory bowel disease in the Baltic region was higher than normal , 'Heip said.

Katja Philippart, an expert at the Dutch Marine Research Institute, said that some changes in the ocean could worsen global warming. For example, the acidity of the ocean increases the ability of algae to absorb CO2.

'When the algae's ability to absorb CO ₂ decreases, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase, leading to an increase in global temperature ,' explained Philippart.