Occurrence, Distribution, and Risk Assessment of Antibiotics in the Aquatic Environment of the Karst Plateau Wetland of Yangtze River Basin, Southwestern China

Abstract

In this study, the occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of 40 commonly used antibiotics, including 15 sulfonamides (SAs), 9 fluoroquinolones (FQs), 7 macrolides (MCs), 3 tetracyclines (TCs), 2 chloramphenicols (CAPs), and 4 other categories, in the aquatic environment of the karst plateau wetland Caohai of the Yangtze River basin in southwestern China are reported. In total, 27 antibiotics were detected, with the detection rate ranging from 5% to 100%. The total concentration at each site ranged from 21.8 ng/L to 954 ng/L, with the average concentration being 189 ng/L. FQs and MCs were the most predominant categories, contributing 29.3% and 25.0% of the total antibiotic burden. The five most commonly detected antibiotics were ciprofloxacin (CIP), oxytetracycline (OTC), acetyl sulfamethoxazole (ASMZ), norfloxacin (NOR), and florfenicol (FF). The spatial distribution of the total concentration at each site demonstrated a decreasing trend from the southeastern area upstream adjoining the main counties to the northwestern area downstream, indicating that human activities have a great impact. Meanwhile, the natural attenuation rates of different types of antibiotics in the direction of flow ranged from 17.6% to 100%, which implied the natural purification potential of the wetland for antibiotics. The cluster analysis results indicated that domestic sewage and wastewater from agriculture and animal husbandry were the main sources of contamination in the surrounding wetland. Risk quotients (RQs) assessment showed that most of the individuals were at low to medium risk and that the adverse risks posed by mixtures of antibiotics were higher than those posed by the individual antibiotics.

Proteomic Analysis of the Mitochondrial Responses in P19 Embryonic Stem Cells Exposed to Florfenicol

“…However, it is also a drug with a high detection rate in eggs and poultry meat, making it a significant food safety concern [ 21 , 22 ]. Additionally, owing to its widespread use in livestock and aquaculture, the pollution and residues of FLO in aquaculture wastewater and natural waters pose potential public health risks [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. In recent years, owing to the continuous detection of FLO residues in water environments and food, research on the toxicity of FLO has gained significant attention, including its hematopoietic toxicity, immunotoxicity, and embryonic toxicity [ 12 , 13 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Forward Osmosis Application for the Removal of Emerging Contaminants from Municipal Wastewater: A Review

“…The variable C X (effluent) represents the concentrations in the final treated effluent (in ng·L −1 ), and PNEC represents the predicted no-effect concentrations (in ng·L −1 ), which until now were not always available in the literature. Thus, PNEC s are calculated on the basis of toxicity data, such as LC 50 or EC 50 , and the safety factor (AF), which is typically 1000 for short-term toxicity data, as recommended by the Water Framework Directive [ 139 , 140 ]. If the RQ is <0.1, it indicates low risk; if the RQ is between 0.1 and 1.0, it corresponds to moderate risk; if the RQ is ≥1.0, it indicates high risk [ 141 , 142 ].…”

Ecological Risks of Antibiotics in Urban Wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

“…Antibiotic contamination has been studied in different types of wetlands, such as mangroves, lakes, rivers, and coastal wetlands [20][21][22][23][24]. Constructed wetlands have become a hot research area with regard to antibiotics, since constructed wetland systems can improve the removal efficiency of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants [25,26].…”