Occurrence of selected antibiotics in urban rivers in northwest Pakistan and assessment of ecotoxicological and antimicrobial resistance risks

Dilawar Farhan Shams; Muhammad Izaz; Waliullah Khan; Saira Nayab; Abdul Tawab; Shams Ali Baig

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141357

Occurrence of selected antibiotics in urban rivers in northwest Pakistan and assessment of ecotoxicological and antimicrobial resistance risks

Chemosphere. 2024 Mar:352:141357. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141357. Epub 2024 Feb 7.

Authors

Dilawar Farhan Shams¹, Muhammad Izaz², Waliullah Khan³, Saira Nayab⁴, Abdul Tawab⁵, Shams Ali Baig²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, 23200, Pakistan. Electronic address: drfarhan@awkum.edu.pk.
² Department of Environmental Sciences, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, 23200, Pakistan.
³ Department of Chemistry, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, 23200, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University (SBBU), Sheringal Upper Dir, 18050, Pakistan; Department of Chemistry and Green-Nano Materials Research Center, Kungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea.
⁵ National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan.

PMID: 38336033
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141357

Abstract

Antibiotics in aquatic systems of developing countries are a growing concern, particularly with the potential ecological risks and emergence of antimicrobial resistance. In Pakistan, antibiotics are widely consumed and released untreated into rivers, however, there is little information on their occurrence and potential risks. In this study, the concentrations and risk assessment of three commonly consumed antibiotics, ciprofloxacin (CIP), amoxicillin (AMX), and cefixime (CFM) belonging to different classes of fluoroquinolone, penicillin, and cephalosporin respectively were investigated in the Kabul River and its two tributaries, Bara River and Shah Alam River in the northwest region of the country. Composite samples were collected in different sampling campaigns and analyzed using the LC-ESI-MS/MS technique. All three antibiotics were found in higher concentrations ranging from 410 to 1810 ng/L, 180-850 ng/L, and 120-600 ng/L for CIP, AMX, and CFM respectively. The Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-ranked tests revealed insignificant differences in average concentrations of each antibiotic in the three rivers and the Pearson Correlation showed a significant positive correlation of CIP with both AMX and CFM indicating their similar pollution sources. Ecotoxicological risk assessment showed a higher risk to algae and bacteria (P. putida) in the rivers with CIP posing a greater risk. The potential risk of antimicrobial resistance development (ARD) was higher in all the three rivers, particularly in Kabul River where maximum risk quotients (RQ_ARD) of 28.3, 9.4 and 3.4 were noted for CIP, CFM and AMX respectively. The human health (HH) risk was insignificant, though the RQ_HH was higher for the lower age groups (0-3 months). In addition, the combined flux of the antibiotics in the Kabul River was estimated as 59 tons/year with CIP having a significant flux relative to the other antibiotics.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Antimicrobial resistance risk; Eco-toxicological risk; Flux; Kabul river; Occurrence.

MeSH terms

Amoxicillin
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / analysis
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / toxicity
Cefixime
China
Ciprofloxacin
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Pakistan
Risk Assessment
Rivers
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / toxicity

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Amoxicillin
Ciprofloxacin
Cefixime