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Over the last 20 years, concentrations of pharmaceuticals have increased in freshwater sources all over the world, as revealed by research experts in the university environment. Radboud. Levels of ciprofloxacin antibiotic have reached the point of causing harmful ecological effects. This study is the first to examine the risks of two particular drugs in global freshwater sources. It is being published at Letters of research on the environment February 22nd. "The study calls for more widespread data collection to measure the problem in the world".
"Getting an accurate picture of the environmental risks badociated with pharmaceuticals around the world depends on the availability of data, which is limited," says Rik Oldenkamp, lead author of the article. "It is true that some models, such as the ePiE model, can give detailed forecasts of concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the environment, but they often only apply where we already have them. a lot of information, such as rivers in Europe. " The new model developed by the researchers, based on an existing model with a lower resolution, makes it possible to establish global forecasts for each ecoregion.
Harmful concentrations
Carbamazepine, an antiepileptic, and ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic, have shown that environmental risks were 10 to 20 times higher in 2015 than in 1995. The increased use of ciprofloxacin in humans was to have a particularly high impact on a global scale. "The concentrations of this antibiotic can be harmful to bacteria in the water, and these bacteria play an important role in different nutrient cycles," says Oldenkamp. "Antibiotics can also have a negative impact on the effectiveness of bacterial colonies used in wastewater treatment."
Resistance to antibiotics as an environmental problem
Antibiotic resistance has been on the agenda of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations General Assembly in recent years. "In general, this is considered a problem for the health sector because resistant bacteria can be transmitted to hospitals or livestock," said Oldenkamp. "But the role of the environment in this problem is little known, even though it is becoming increasingly obvious that the environment is functioning as a source of resistance for various pathogens."
More data in high risk areas
"Our model predicts a relatively high environmental risk for ecoregions in densely populated and dry areas such as the Middle East, yet it is precisely these areas where there is little data on pharmaceutical use and concentrations. in surface water, "says Oldenkamp. The researchers predicted human pharmaceutical consumption in these regions using regression models based on consumption from other countries, as well as socio-economic and demographic information, and linked with information related to drug use. Other factors such as water sources and the number of people having access to wastewater. treatment.
"Our model shows a particular need for new data in these types of domains," says Oldenkamp. "This model is really a starting point to better understand the environmental risks of pharmaceuticals around the world."
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Material provided by Radboud University of Nijmegen. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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