Occurrence and risk assessment of multiple classes of antibiotics in urban canals and lakes in Hanoi, Vietnam

Ngoc Han Tran; Lan Hoang; Long Duc Nghiem; Nu My Ha Nguyen; Huu Hao Ngo; Wenshan Guo; Quang Thang Trinh; Nam Hai Mai; Huiting Chen; Dinh Duc Nguyen; Thi Thao Ta; Karina Yew-Hoong Gin

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.092

Occurrence and risk assessment of multiple classes of antibiotics in urban canals and lakes in Hanoi, Vietnam

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Nov 20:692:157-174. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.092. Epub 2019 Jul 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1-Create Way, #15-02 Create Tower, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam. Electronic address: eritnh@nus.edu.sg.
² Advanced Institute for Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
³ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NWS 2007, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi University of Science, 1 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Institute of Continuing Education, Ha Tinh University, No. 447, Road-26/3, Dai Nai, Ha Tinh, Viet Nam.
⁵ Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam.
⁶ School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Avenue, Bldg. 30, Room 408, SFGH, CA 94110, United States of America.
⁷ NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1-Create Way, #15-02 Create Tower, Singapore 138602, Singapore.
⁸ Department of Environmental Energy Engineering, Kyonggi University, Suwon 16227, Republic of Korea.
⁹ Faculty of Chemistry, Hanoi University of Science, 1 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
¹⁰ NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1-Create Way, #15-02 Create Tower, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576, Singapore. Electronic address: ceeginyh@nus.edu.sg.

PMID: 31344569
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.092

Abstract

Very little information on the occurrence and risk assessment of antibiotics in the aquatic environment is reported for Vietnam, where antibiotics are assumed to be omnipresent in urban canals and lakes at high concentrations due to the easy accessibility of antibiotics without doctor prescription. This study provides comprehensive analysis of the occurrence of 23 antibiotics in urban canals (To Lich and Kim Nguu) and lakes (West Lake, Hoan Kiem, and Yen So) in Hanoi, Vietnam. Of these 23 antibiotics, 18 were detected in urban canals at above 67.9% detection frequency (DF). The concentrations of detected antibiotics were in the range from below quantification limit (MQL) to almost 50,000 ng/L, depending on the compound and sampling site. In urban canals, median concentration of amoxicillin, erythromycin, and sulfamethoxazole was >1000 ng/L while other antibiotics such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, sulfamethazine, tetracycline, tylosin and vancomycin were detected at median concentrations of <100 ng/L. Similarly, 16 target antibiotics were also detected in urban lakes. Macrolides (azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin-H₂O), fluoroquinolones (enrofloxacin and ofloxacin), lincosamides (clindamycin and lincomycin), and trimethoprim were ubiquitously detected in urban lakes (DF = 100%). In this study, potential risks of antibiotics in the investigated urban canals and lakes were assessed based on the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) from the existing literature for antibiotic resistance selection (PNEC_ARM) and ecological toxicity to aquatic organisms (PNEC_Ecotox). Ampicillin, amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, ofloxacin, tetracycline, and trimethoprim were found in the investigated urban canals at concentrations exceeding their PNEC_ARM and PNEC_Ecotox. Similarly, most of the target antibiotics (i.e. amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, clindamycin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, lincomycin, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, trimethoprim and tylosin) were detected in the investigated urban lakes at concentrations close to or exceeding PNEC_Ecotox for aquatic organisms. Further investigations on the occurrence and fate of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in surface waters are recommended.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance bacteria; Antibiotics; Ecological toxicity; Environmental risk assessment; Surface water; Wastewater.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / analysis*
Environmental Monitoring*
Lakes / analysis*
Risk Assessment
Rivers*
Vietnam
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Water Pollutants, Chemical