New research suggests contamination of oyster beds with plastics, paint, and baby formula in Asia could reveal a larger emerging global public health risk, seafood source reported.

Scientists from the University of California, Irvine, in collaboration with Environmental Defense Fund, Cornell University, and Australia’s University of Queensland, found traces of plastics, kerosene, paint, talc, and milk supplement powders in the beds on the eastern Andaman Sea of Myanmar.

The scientists focused their research efforts on nine coral reefs off Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago, which is located about 40 miles from Myeik. Using DNA sequencing, the researchers found 5,459 potential human pathogens with links to 87 species of bacteria while looking into contaminants in seawater and in oysters. More than half of the examined pathogens are believed to be harmful to people’s health, they concluded, but much more scientific research is needed to understand the risks.