Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world’s rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Lassa Fever is endemic to the eastern region of Sierra Leone. It is a haemorrhagic disease that is often transmitted from rats to humans and then human to humans. Ecological disturbances such as changes in land use involving conversion of natural ecosystems to agriculture, mining or for urban expansion are reported to bring humans into close contact with animals such as the Mastomys rat that carries the Lassa Fever virus thereby posing health problems.The nature and extent of such ecological disturbances or land use changes within areas known to be endemic to Lassa Fever are not clearly understood from a research context in Sierra Leone. This study was therefore undertaken to identify the pattern of changes in land use and cropping practices and their potential to bring humans into close interactions with the Mastomys rat that is the host for the Lassa Fever virus. Four communities were chosen for the study, two rural (Lalehun and Majihun) and two urban (Lambayama section in Kenema City and Largo Square section in Segbwema Town). Different vegetation and land use/cropping practices were identified and observations were made on the pattern of changes at different times in the cropping year. There were four common vegetation and cropping practices found in all communities: upland rice intercropping, old fallow, young fallow, and swamp rice cultivation. The study revealed the variations in land use patterns and cropping practices between urban and rural settlements. Agro-forestry practices such as perennial cash crops cacao and rubber plantations were more common in rural communities. The study also revealed that while fallow vegetation persisted in rural areas there had been expansion of settlements into old fallow vegetation indicating a greater threat to the persistence of natural ecosystem in urban than in rural settlements. These disturbances resulted in habitat fragmentation and increased the likelihood of contact between humans and animal species (e.g. Mastomys * Corresponding author.A. Kamara et al. 451 rat) associated with various habitats.

The safety of water is usually determined by comparing its quality to recommended standards. The objective of this work was to determine whether the water supplied on Njala Campus is safe for drinking. The quality parameters investigated include coliform bacteria, turbidity, conductivity, total dissolved solids and nitrates. Samples were stored in a cooler with ice and transported to the laboratory within 30 minutes of collection. A checklist of questions to know the perception of residents was administered. According to the physical and biological results, the water is not safe for consumption. The turbidity and microbial counts were too high in most samples both in the wet and dry seasons. Additionally, over 80% of the respondents did not trust the water supply system. Most of them treat the supplied water by either boiling or disinfection before use. Most respondents complained of water-borne diseases but were not clear whether it is related to the water supplied. The chemical parameters, however, were acceptable: nitrate levels were low. In conclusion, the water is not safe for consumption as far as the physical and biological parameters are concerned. The campus water supply system needs improvement in terms of conveying raw and finished water, filter optimization, and satisfying the chlorine demand.

Understanding the hydrologic budget is crucial in planning for community based water supply. The water budget includes rainfall intensity, groundwater recharge, interception, evapotranspiration, and surface runoff. The percentage of rain going to recharge groundwater, rivers, and lakes is very important from the standpoint of human water consumption and ecosystems service. The objective of this work is to determine the recharge potential of groundwater in the Mokonde Community, Southern Sierra Leone. The community is dependent on wells as the main source of domestic water supply. This research need was born out of the absence of available data to show the relationship between rainfall amounts and groundwater recharge in the study area. In this study we monitored groundwater in a well at the United Methodist Church (UMC) compound at Ngegba Street. Automatic water logging devices were deployed to take readings in water level fluctuations every 15 minutes. Monitoring continued throughout the hydrological year of Sierra Leone. A rain gauge was deployed at neighboring UMC Primary School, and daily rainfall records taken at 9:00 a.m. Our team members also deployed at the well on a daily basis to collect data on abstraction of water. The results revealed, through a 29-year rainfall data and the Specific Yield, that 1170 mm of rainfall (48%) was the maximum potential of rainfall that would make groundwater a convenient source of water supply in the area. This demand was higher with the recent 1-year rainfall data. Increase in settlement had likely led to reduction in pervious area, and hence more and more rainfall needed for recharge. The time it took for maximum recharge (4 weeks) was shorter than that for maximum discharge (28 -30 weeks). Groundwater flowed southwards towards the Gbengitay stream, which drained into the Tia River. These results would inform first step in delineating the water balance in the study area. Future studies could include the quality aspect, stream/river flow, interception and evapotranspiration. These pieces of information are required to help informed decision for water security. A. S. Mansaray et al.544

No abstract