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Pharmaceuticals, among the emerging contaminants, are pseudopersistent and recently of serious concern due to universal use, toxicity, and resistance development at low concentrations. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence and risk of eight pharmaceuticals in surface water used for vegetable irrigation in Ghana’s Kumasi and Sunyani metropolises, which are influenced by hospitals, sewage treatment facilities, and market effluents. Samples were concentrated via solid-phase extraction (SPE) while liquid chromatography was used to identify and quantify the analytes. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and diclofenac were the detected analgesics in this study, with concentrations stretching from below detection limit (not detected) to 319.0 ng/L, while amoxicillin, trimethoprim, and cefuroxime were the detected antibiotics with a concentration range of no detection to 840.0 ng/L. Based on the available long-term data, an environmental risk assessment was conducted. Because of the presence of ibuprofen, the lowest trophic level and fish were shown to be at risk. The estimated risk quotient values for antibiotics resistance were above 1 for all the antibiotics investigated in surface water impacted by the wastewater of hospitals and pharmaceutical companies’ except surface water impacted by sewage treatment plants (STPs) and market wastewater. The existence of these pharmaceuticals in surface water does not only point to a general concern for the environment but also a potential health risk on humans and other lives as a result of their impact on drinking water and vegetable production in Ghana.

a b s t r a c tStudy region: Buruli ulcer, an emerging disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, largely affects poor rural populations in tropical countries. The environmental niche that supports this necrotizing bacterium is unclear. Here, water samples were collected from five communities within Ghana in the rainy season in 2011: four in the southern part of Ghana (three disease-endemic communities: Pokukrom, Betenase, and Ayanfuri, and one control: Kedadwen) and one non-endemic community (Nangruma) in the north. Study focus: Past studies of Buruli ulcer conclude that water quality is, in some way, closely related to the transmission of this disease. This work serves as a first step to explore links between Buruli ulcer incidence and water quality. More broadly, this research works toward identifying the environmental niche for M. ulcerans, providing characterization of water bodies hazardous to human health in at-risk communities. New hydrological insights: Trace metals, thought to aid in the preferential growth of M. ulcerans, are present in higher concentrations in mining pits and stagnant pools than in other tested water bodies. Arsenic in particular could serve as a double threat for BU incidence: it could support the growth of M. ulcerans while suppressing immune systems, making the population more susceptible to disease. Few other differences between endemic and non-endemic communities exist, implying other variables such as human behavior may also control the onset of Buruli ulcer.