Dutch researchers have developed a model to estimate drug concentrations in
Between 1995 and 2015, the increaseConcentrations of these drugs and an increase in the number of water levels they affect mean that the risks to aquatic ecosystems have become 10–20 times higher than two decades ago.
Researchers have noticed that carbamazepine isantiepileptic drug - was associated with impaired digestive processes of fish and shellfish eggs, and potential risks were most pronounced in arid areas. These risks were much more common for ciprofloxacin: 223 of the 449 ecosystems tested showed a significant increase in the number of infections.
"The concentrations of this antibiotic can beharmful to bacteria in water, and these bacteria, in turn, play an important role in various nutrient cycles, ”said study author Rick Oldenkamp.
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Environmental risks associated with the contentciprofloxacin in freshwater resources increased worldwide from 1995-2015. Even more disturbing to researchers is the fact that when Dr. Oldenkamp and his colleagues compared their predictions with samples from four river systems, they found that their model underestimated risk.
Pharmaceutical residues may entersystems through wastewater from poorly maintained sewage systems or from wastewater from fields for medicines used in animal husbandry. This has become a global problem because of the risk that it will accelerate the rate at which bacteria develop ways to resist treatment, making them ineffective.
In addition, there is a risk to nature ifconcentrations of drugs will increase and affect the behavior of animals or disrupt the vital activity of bacteria that carry out the necessary decomposition and saturation of the soil with oxygen.