Monitoring of Amoxicillin and Cephalexin Antibiotics in Municipal WWTPs During Covid-19 Outbreak: A Case Study in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Antibiotics are non-biodegradable drugs that inhibit the expansion and growth of microorganisms. Especially with the prevalence of Covid-19, the consumption of antibiotics has increased. Therefore, the presence of most prescribed antibiotics from ß-lactams including amoxicillin and cephalexin were studied at two municipal WWTPs in Isfahan. The analytical method was to extract antibiotics from the aqueous phase and then detected them via HPLC/UV. Samples were collected from 2 WWTPs for 13 sampling periods over 2 months between February and March 2020 during the outbreak of Covid-19. In WWTP A, the average concentration of amoxicillin in influent, effluent, and its removal efficiency was 509.64 ± 161.97 µg/L, 352.96 ± 203.88 µg/L, 34.35 ± 31.38%, and the average concentration of cephalexin in influent, effluent, and its removal efficiency was 189.42 ± 176.06 µg/L, 32.6 ± 49.59µg/L, 78.75 ± 23.81%, respectively. In WWTP B, the average concentration of amoxicillin in influent, effluent, and its removal efficiency was 2134.82 ± 3031.53µg/L, 401.09 ± 205.86µg/L, and 54.82 ± 33.29%, respectively. Also, the average concentration of cephalexin in influent, effluent, and its removal efficiency was 183.69 ± 123.48 µg/L, 23.01 ± 40.71 µg/L, and 87.65 ± 21.76%, respectively. According to Mann–Whitney test results, the concentration of antibiotics in both WWTPs had significant differences ( p-value < .05), and according to results from the Spearman test no correlation between removal efficiency of antibiotics with other principles wastewater parameters was observed.

Detection of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds in Tap Water Samples by Direct Injection HPLC/MS-MS: A Danger Signal in Deficiency in Residue Management

“…The pharmaceutical compounds detected at higher concentrations were amoxicillin and cipro oxacin in ranges of 2 -147 µg/L and 22 -44 µg/L, respectively. Both compounds are classi ed as antibiotics the priority used in therapy human and veterinary, therefore have been highly detected, reported, and related with antimicrobial resistance in diverse studies worldwide [11,12,[24][25][26][27][28]. Currently, cipro oxacin and amoxicillin are included in the European Union watch list of substances for its monitoring in the eld of water policy [26,29].…”

Cephalexin interaction with biosolids-derived dissolved organic matter: binding mechanism and implications for adsorption by biochar and clay

“…3 Given the prevalence of cephalexin use, it has been found in wastewater treatment plant influent globally, with concentrations of 29, 64 and 425 μg L −1 reported in Hong Kong, Australia, and Iran, respectively. [4][5][6] Like many antibiotics, cephalexin removal is incomplete and trace levels of cephalexin may persist in treated wastewater and enter the environment through discharge of wastewater into waterways or land application of treated wastewater. 4,7 As a result of this prevalence, cephalexin fate in wastewater streams is particularly relevant to environmental health, as it may influence the development of antimicrobial resistance through selective pressure in wastewater streams and systems that receive treated wastewater.…”