Occurrence and human health risk assessment of antibiotics in cultured fish from 19 provinces in China

Abstract

The occurrence of antibiotics and potential health risk of 300 cultured fish samples from 19 provinces in China were investigated. The levels of 28 antibiotics (15 fluoroquinolones, 4 tetracyclines, 8 macrolides and rifampin) in 8 fish species were measured through liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. As a result, 10 antibiotics were detected with an overall detection frequency of 24.3%, and the individual detection frequency of antibiotics ranged from 0.33 to 16.7%. The extremely high concentrations (above 100 µg/kg) of doxycycline and erythromycin were found in the samples. Antibiotics with high detection frequency was noticed in largemouth bass (41.2%), followed by snakehead (34.4%) and bream (31.2%). Specifically, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu presented high detection frequency values of more than 60%. Moreover, the highest mean concentration was observed in Shandong, and the concentration covered from 34.8 µg/kg to 410 µg/kg. Despite the high detection frequency and levels of antibiotics were found in samples, ingestion of cultured fish was not significantly related to human health risks in China, according to the calculated estimated daily intakes and hazard quotients. These results provided us the actual levels of antibiotics in cultured fish and human health risk assessment of consuming fishery products.

Distribution and Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Antibiotics, Illegal Drugs, and Toxic Elements in Gastropods from Southeast China

“…The use of antibiotics in aquaculture is primarily for disease prevention and treatment, but overuse and misuse can lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in aquatic environments [23], posing serious implications for human health. QNs, especially enrofloxacin and its metabolite ciprofloxacin are usually detected in marine fish, as reported by previous studies [24][25][26][27]. However, our study revealed that antibiotics with high detection frequency were CAPs and TCs in gastropod samples, unlike fish.…”

Preliminary investigation on the occurrence and health risk assessment of antibiotics in cultured tilapia retailed at a commercial outlet in Tema, Ghana

“…Additionally, in some cases, the reason for high levels of tetracycline antibiotics in fish samples could be the use of substances containing antibiotics, like poultry manure, to improve plankton growth in aquaculture systems [ 43 ]. The maximum residual limits (MRL) of 100 μg/kg established by the European Commission [ 14 ] were not exceeded in any of the present study's tilapia samples that were contaminated with TCs.…”

“…This inevitably exposes aquatic organisms, starting with algae as the primary consumers in the food chain, to the ecotoxic effects of these residual antibiotic residues [ 12 ]. Earlier studies reported the occurrence of antibiotics in cultured fish from China [ [13] , [14] , [15] ], Argentina [ 16 ], Iran [ 17 ], and South Korea [ 18 ]. These studies reported various antibiotics in varying concentrations from different classes, such as tetracyclines, sulphonamides, quinolones, potentiators, pleuromutilin, penicillin, macrolides, lincosamides, cephalosporins, and amphenicols.…”

Contaminants of Emerging Concern: Antibiotics Research in Mussels from the Coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Sardinia, Italy)

“…In fact, humans and animals could be exposed to different compounds that can be simultaneously present in the environment; so, low concentrations should also be considered when referring to the cumulative risk. Moreover, long-term exposure to antibiotics trace levels can also lead to AMR and important changes in gut microbiota [70].…”