Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Qualitative Risk Assessment for Antimicrobial Resistance among Humans from Salmon Fillet Consumption Due to the High Use of Antibiotics against Bacterial Infections in Farmed Salmon

Background: Worldwide, aquaculture is considered as a hotspot environment for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) due to the intense use of antibiotics in its productive systems. Chile is the second largest producer of farmed salmon worldwide, and tons of antibiotics are used to control bacterial diseases, such as Salmon Rickettsial Syndrome (SRS) and Bacterial Kidney Disease (BKD). However, studies determining the risk of consuming salmon fillets that have been treated with antibiotics during the salmon production are limited. Consulting leading experts in the field could provide a knowledge base to identify and address this question and research gaps. Methods: Multisectoral risk perception of AMR through salmon fillet consumption was evaluated by eliciting expert data obtained through discussions during a workshop and from questionnaires given to experts from academia (n = 15, 63%), the public sector (n = 5, 21%), and the salmon industry (n = 4, 17%). Results: The qualitative risk analysis suggested an overall ‘low’ probability of AMR acquisition by consumption of salmon fillet that had been treated during the production cycle. The risk perception varied slightly between production stages in freshwater and seawater. In consensus with all sectors, this overall ‘low’, but existing, risk was probably associated with bacterial infections and the use of antibiotics. Conclusions: As it is essential to reduce the use of antibiotics in the Chilean salmon industry, this intersectoral approach and consensual results could favor effective implementation of targeted initiatives for the control and prevention of major bacterial diseases

Salmonella in Raptors and Aquatic Wild Birds in Chile

Salmonella enterica is one of the main causes of gastrointestinal disease worldwide. Wild birds are capable of harboring a variety of Salmonella serovars, which could have an important role in the epidemiology of salmonellosis in humans and production animals. We tested 519 fecal samples from raptors and aquatic birds from different regions of central (three rehabilitation centers for wildlife and the coastal area) and southern areas of Chile for Salmonella. All samples were obtained in 2015 and 2017, covering all four seasons. Salmonella was isolated from 12 of the 519 samples (2%) analyzed, from two carnivorous birds, four birds with generalist habits, and six waterfowl. Among the isolates obtained, one showed resistance to gentamicin, and one showed a multidrug-resistance phenotype, with resistance to ampicillin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline. These results demonstrated the importance of characterizing Salmonella in wild birds because previous studies have shown genetic and phenotypic evidence suggesting interspecies transmission of Salmonella enterica that is resistant to antimicrobials between humans and wild and domestic birds.Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 11140108 Millennium Science Initiative of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, Government of Chile UNAB Initiatio

Biogeographical variation in antimicrobial resistance in rivers is influenced by agriculture and is spread through bacteriophages

Antibiotic resistance is currently an extensive medical challenge worldwide, with global numbers increasing steadily. Recent data have highlighted wastewater treatment plants as a reservoir of resistance genes. The impact of these findings for human health can best be summarized using a One Health concept. However, the molecular mechanisms impacting resistance spread have not been carefully evaluated. Bacterial viruses, that is bacteriophages, have recently been shown to be important mediators of bacterial resistance genes in environmental milieus and are transferrable to human pathogens. Herein, we investigated the biogeographical impact on resistance spread through river-borne bacteriophages using amplicon deep sequencing of the microbiota, absolute quantification of resistance genes using ddPCR, and phage induction capacity within wastewater. Microbial biodiversity of the rivers is significantly affected by river site, surrounding milieu and time of sampling. Furthermore, areas of land associated with agriculture had a significantly higher ability to induce bacteriophages carrying antibiotic resistance genes, indicating their impact on resistance spread. It is imperative that we continue to analyse global antibiotic resistance problem from a One Health perspective to gain novel insights into mechanisms of resistance spread

Microbiological risk assessment - Guidance for food

This document provides guidance on undertaking risk assessment of all microbial hazards which may adversely affect human health in foods along a food chain. This document is also intended to provide practical guidance on a structured framework for carrying out risk assessment of microbiological hazards in foods, focussing on the four components including hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization. These guidelines therefore represent the best practice at the time of their preparation, and it is hoped that they will help stimulate further developments and disseminate the current knowledge

Humans and Hoofed Livestock Are the Main Sources of Fecal Contamination of Rivers Used for Crop Irrigation: A Microbial Source Tracking Approach.

Freshwater bodies receive waste, feces, and fecal microorganisms from agricultural, urban, and natural activities. In this study, the probable sources of fecal contamination were determined. Also, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) were detected in the two main rivers of central Chile. Surface water samples were collected from 12 sampling sites in the Maipo (n = 8) and Maule Rivers (n = 4) every 3 months, from August 2017 until April 2019. To determine the fecal contamination level, fecal coliforms were quantified using the most probable number (MPN) method and the source of fecal contamination was determined by Microbial Source Tracking (MST) using the Cryptosporidium and Giardia genotyping method. Separately, to determine if antimicrobial resistance bacteria (AMB) were present in the rivers, Escherichia coli and environmental bacteria were isolated, and the antibiotic susceptibility profile was determined. Fecal coliform levels in the Maule and Maipo Rivers ranged between 1 and 130 MPN/100-ml, and 2 and 30,000 MPN/100-ml, respectively. Based on the MST results using Cryptosporidium and Giardia host-specific species, human, cattle, birds, and/or dogs hosts were the probable sources of fecal contamination in both rivers, with human and cattle host-specific species being more frequently detected. Conditional tree analysis indicated that coliform levels were significantly associated with the river system (Maipo versus Maule), land use, and season. Fecal coliform levels were significantly (p < 0.006) higher at urban and agricultural sites than at sites immediately downstream of treatment centers, livestock areas, or natural areas. Three out of eight (37.5%) E. coli isolates presented a multidrug-resistance (MDR) phenotype. Similarly, 6.6% (117/1768) and 5.1% (44/863) of environmental isolates, in Maipo and Maule River showed and MDR phenotype. Efforts to reduce fecal discharge into these rivers should thus focus on agriculture and urban land uses as these areas were contributing the most and more frequently to fecal contamination into the rivers, while human and cattle fecal discharges were identified as the most likely source of this fecal contamination by the MST approach. This information can be used to design better mitigation strategies, thereby reducing the burden of waterborne diseases and AMR in Central Chile

Author Correction: Genomic analysis of sewage from 101 countries reveals global landscape of antimicrobial resistance (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (7251), 10.1038/s41467-022-34312-7)

In this article, the author name Antoinette Ngandjio was incorrectly written as Antoinette Ngandijo. In this article, the affiliation details for Author Sara Cuadros-Orellana were incorrectly given as ‘Centro de Biotecnologνa de los Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Talca, Chile’ but should have been ‘Universidad Catolica del Maule, Centro de Biotecnología de los Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Talca, Chile’. The original article has been corrected

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.N

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals