Levels of six antibiotics used in China estimated by means of wastewater-based epidemiology

Abstract

Due to lack of proper regulation, information about antibiotics consumption in many countries such as China is difficult to obtain. In this study, a simple method based on wastewater-based epidemiology was adopted to estimate their usage in four megacities of China. Six antibiotics (norfloxacin, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, erythromycin and roxithromycin), which are the most frequently consumed antibiotics in China, were selected as the targets. Based on our results, Chongqing had the largest total annual consumption of the selected six antibiotics among the four megacities, followed by Guangzhou, then Hong Kong, with Beijing having the least, with values of 4.4 g/y/P, 4.0 g/y/P, 1.6 g/y/P, and 1.3 g/y/P, respectively. Compared with the daily consumption per capita in Italy, the estimated consumption levels of the selected six antibiotics in four cities of China were 12-41 times those of Italy. Our results suggested that the consumption of antibiotics in China was excessive.

Population-level surveillance of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli through sewage analysis

“…Hence, sewage analysis has emerged as an attractive means for different population-based surveillance purposes. Such an approach referred to as sewage/wastewater epidemiology [4] has, for instance, provided estimations of pharmaceutical [5] and illicit drug consumption [6,7], as well as been employed for the surveillance of viral pathogens [8,9]. With regard to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in several studies similar strains were isolated from both sewage and clinical samples [10-14].…”

Sources of antibiotics pollutants in the aquatic environment under SARS-CoV-2 pandemic situation

“… Switzerland 1280 ± 840 ng L -1 [ 19 ] Erythromycin Inhibition of proteins synthesis Hospital wastewater Prevent bacterial protein synthesis. Portugal 575 ng L -1 [ 19 ] Aquaculture ponds Taiwan 57.4 ng L -1 [ 20 ] Ofloxacin Inhibition of DNA replication Hospital wastewater Bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis Portugal 6543 ng L -1 [ 19 ] Domestic wastewater China 2794 ug m -3 [ 21 ] Sulfamethoxazole Inhibition of dihydrofolate synthesis Hospital wastewater Urinary tract infections South Korea 25300 ng L -1 [ 19 ] Domestic wastewater China 2935 ug m -3 [ 21 ] Norfloxacin Inhibition of DNA replication Domestic wastewater Urinary tract infections China 1813 ug m -3 [ …”

Veterinary antibiotics in swine and cattle wastewaters of China and the United States: Features and differences

“…In the last decades, livestock wastewater has become an important source of antibiotics in various environmental compartments, which include municipal wastewater (He et al, 2015;Paíga et al, 2017;Yuan et al, 2019), surface water (Dungan et al, 2017;Jia et al, 2017), groundwater (Lee et al, 2019;Mackie et al, 2006), as well as in soil, sediment and sludge (Dong et al, 2016;Khadra et al, 2019;Sun et al, 2017). The residues of VAs in environment medium has recently attracted public concerns as their persistence in aquatic and soil environments would potentially impose toxic effects (Liu et al, 2016), which enhance the resistance level of microbial communities and promote the proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) (Jia et al, 2017;Lan et al, 2019;Looft et al, 2012;Mackie et al, 2006;Ouyang et al, 2015;Yuan et al, 2016). In understanding the adverse effects of antibiotics on environmental ecology and health, clarifying the source of VAs distribution in environment is the first step.…”