Contamination of rivers with antibiotics

The largest worldwide study regarding the subject matter, (contamination of rivers with anti-

biotic) has found that numerous rivers of the world from the Thames to the Tigris are flooded with

hazardously high amounts of anti-biotic contamination whereas Anti-biotic contamination is one of the

key courses by which microorganisms are capable create resistance from the life-saving drugs, rendering

them inadequate for human use.

The medicines discover their way into water bodies and soil by means of human and animal

waste and flow from wastewater treatment plants and drug producing factories. “It’s quite scary and

depressing. We could have large parts of the environment that have got antibiotics at levels high enough

to affect resistance,” said Alistair Boxall, an environmental researcher at the University of York, who

headed the study. Another study introduced on at a gathering in Helsinki demonstrates that a portion of

the world's best-known rivers, including the Thames, are tainted with anti-biotic agents categorized

fundamentally significant for the treatment of infectious diseases. “A lot of the resistance genes we see in

human pathogens originated from environmental bacteria,” said Prof William Gaze, a microbial biologist

at the University. The ascent in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a worldwide health crisis that could kill 10

million individuals by 2050, the UN said a month ago.

The first-ever global study on the antibiotic contamination of rivers has found that Concentration

of anti-biotic found in a portion of the world's largest rivers surpasses 'safe' levels by up to three hundred

times. In several cases, they were found at dangerous extents, which means resistance is substantially

more expected to develop and spread. Tests taken from the river Danube in Austria contained seven anti-

biotic contaminants and among them, clarithromycin was found at almost four times greater than the

level thought to be safe. Clarithromycin is generally used to treat respiratory tract infections, for example,

pneumonia and bronchitis, Secondly, The Danube, Europe's second-biggest river, was generally the most
contaminated river in Europe. Eight per cent of the sites analyzed in Europe were above safe limits of the

contamination

The Thames, by and large, viewed as one of Europe's cleanest river, was polluted alongside a

portion of its tributaries, by a total of five anti-biotic. One site on the waterway and three on its tributaries

were contaminated above safe levels. Ciprofloxacin, which treats diseases of the skin and urinary tract,

exceed the safe limit more than three times at multiple sites. Indeed, even rivers affected with lower

concentrations of antibiotic agents are a danger, prof Gaze said. “Even the low concentrations seen in

Europe can drive the evolution of resistance and increase the likelihood that resistance genes transfer to

human pathogens,”. Moreover, the experts analyzed 711 locations in 72 countries and discovered anti-

biotic agents in 65 per cent of them. Among them, the contamination of anti-biotic in 111 of the sites was

considered to exceed the safe threshold limit, with the most pessimistic scenarios in excess of multiple

times over as far as 300 times the safe limit.

The same study in Bangladesh shows the concentration of anti-biotic in rivers higher than 170

times. The most excessive antibiotic was trimethoprim, used in the treatment of bladder cancer, found at

307 of the 711 sites. Similarly, a mix of wastewater treatment seepages, human and animal waste, and

overflow from medication plants, in any case, has prompted one river in Bangladesh having high amount

and concentration of the antibiotic metronidazole exceeding 300 times the safe limit. This antibiotic is

used to treat infectious diseases such as pelvic irritation and vaginal infections and might cause reactions

that incorporate seizures, deadness, and diarrhoea. Another study, presented at the Society of

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry meeting in Finland, uncovered that several other different

streams are likewise polluted with antibiotic agents, frequently at dangerous levels.

Altogether, analysts discovered that the concentration of antibiotic in more than 450 locations

across 72 countries—65% of the 711 sites tested. Somewhere in the range of 111 of the locations with

anti-biotic had unsafe levels, and the most concerning areas were in Asia and Africa. At one site in
Kenya, anti-biotic levels were high to the point that all fish had died. Similarly, the sites tested at North

America, South America and Europe also had the level beyond safe limits which revealed the

contamination of antibiotic throughout the world rivers as a global problem.

Besides its effect on wildlife, the contamination may permit anti-biotic resistant superbugs to

prosper, and could thus introduce a worldwide health crisis that would put millions in danger. Through

continuous contact with antibiotic agents, bacteria change and grow, creating resistance from medications

that would normally spare lives. "It's quite scary and depressing," analyst Alistair Boxall, who is an

ecological researcher at the UK's University of York, told the Guardian. “We could have large parts of the

environment that have got antibiotics at levels high enough to affect resistance.”

References

1. The World's Rivers Are Contaminated with Antibiotics, Study Shows

Kara Fox - https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/27/health/antibiotics-contaminate-worlds-rivers-intl-

scli/index.html

2. Antibiotics Found in World's Rivers at Levels Up to 300 Times Above Safe Levels

Rich Haridy - https://newatlas.com/global-river-antibiotic-pollution-study/59868/

3. Antibiotics Found in Some of the World's Rivers Exceed 'safe' Levels, Global Study Finds

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190527094120.htm?

utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ScienceDaily_TMD_1&utm_source=TMD

4. Pharmaceutical Residues in Fresh Water Pose a Growing Environmental Risk

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222084234.htm?

utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ScienceDaily_TMD_1&utm_source=TMD
5. Antibiotics Found in Rivers at Up to 300 Times Over 'safe' Levels

6. https://www.slashgear.com/antibiotics-found-in-rivers-at-up-to-300-times-over-safe-levels-

27578126/

7. World's Rivers Are Contaminated with Dangerous Levels of Antibiotics, Study Finds

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/worlds-rivers-contaminated-antibiotics-university-of-

york-a8931576.html.

8. Unsafe Levels of Antibiotics Contaminate World's Rivers: Study

https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/todays-paper/world-todays-paper/unsafe-levels-of-antibiotics-

contaminate-worlds-rivers-study/