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The occurrence of antimicrobial substances in toilet, sink and shower drainpipes of clinical units: A neglected source of antibiotic residues
- Source :
- International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 222:455-467
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Antibiotics represent one of the most important drug groups used in the management of bacterial infections in humans and animals. Due to the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance, assurance of the antibacterial effectiveness of these substances has moved into the focus of public health. The reduction in antibiotic residues in wastewater and the environment may play a decisive role in the development of increasing rates of antibiotic resistance. The present study examines the wastewater of 31 patient rooms of various German clinics for possible residues of antibiotics, as well as the wastewater of five private households as a reference. To the best of our knowledge, this study shows for the first time that in hospitals with high antibiotic consumption rates, residues of these drugs can be regularly detected in toilets, sink siphons and shower drains at concentrations ranging from 0.02 μg·L−1 to a maximum of 79 mg·L−1. After complete flushing of the wastewater siphons, antibiotics are no longer detectable, but after temporal stagnation, the concentration of the active substances in the water phases of respective siphons increases again, suggesting that antibiotics persist through the washing process in biofilms. This study demonstrates that clinical wastewater systems offer further possibilities for the optimization of antibiotic resistance surveillance.
- Subjects :
- medicine.drug_class
Antibiotics
Wastewater
010501 environmental sciences
01 natural sciences
Sink (geography)
Toxicology
03 medical and health sciences
Shower
0302 clinical medicine
Antibiotic resistance
Anti-Infective Agents
Germany
medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
Equipment and Supplies, Hospital
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Toilet
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Antimicrobial
Hospitals
Bathroom Equipment
Housing
Environmental science
Sewage treatment
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Environmental Monitoring
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14384639
- Volume :
- 222
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f99e8eb808b02ad3a7456cb8a3e338aa