Antibiotics Contaminate Rivers Worldwide

“The research team searched for residues of 14 commonly prescribed antibiotics in rivers from 72 different countries. Antibiotics were found in almost two-thirds of the samples.

Dangerous pollution levels were measured particularly frequently in Asia and Africa. The researchers determined the worst value in a river in Bangladesh: the concentration of the drug metronidazole, which is used for infections with bacteria and parasites, exceeded the safety value by three hundred times. However, the measured residues in Kenya, Ghana, Pakistan, and Nigeria were also alarming. (….)

The most widespread pharmaceutical substance was trimethoprim, which is prescribed for bladder infections, for example. The antibiotic could be detected at 43 percent of the examined sites. The antibiotic that most frequently exceeded the limit value was ciprofloxacin, which is used for certain infections of the respiratory tract or genital tract, for example.”

Source and more at: https://www.srf.ch/article/17242869/amp