Last Updated on February 28, 2022 by The Health Master
New Delhi, As if pollution from plastic, industrial effluents, and sewage was not enough to damage the health of Indian rivers, a new study has found that they are now prone to pollution from antibiotic residues.
Released on Friday, a new study by Toxics Link, ‘Menace of Antibiotic Pollution in Indian Rivers‘ has raised serious concerns over antibiotic residues found in river water samples from four Indian rivers, i.e., Yamuna (New Delhi), Gomti (Lucknow), Zuari (Goa) and Cooum (Chennai).
The study finds Indian rivers contain antibiotic residues that may contribute to the growing problem of ‘antimicrobial resistance’ and negative effects on the ecosystem and human health.
Three following antibiotics were detected in these river water samples:
- Ofloxacin,
- Norfloxacin,
- Sulfamethoxazole .
- Ofloxacin (0.71 Aug/L) and Sulfamethoxazole (0.2 Aug/L) were found in the Yamuna.
- Norfloxacin (0.93 Aug/L) was detected in the Zuari.
- Ofloxacin (0.54 Aug/L) was also present in the Gomti and Cooum.
“All the antibiotics detected are found to be 2 to 5 times higher than the draft notification limits proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change for the respective compounds,” said Toxics Link’s Programme Coordinator, Omkar Gaonkar.
The sample size in this study is limited; however, the findings of this study are alarming and highlight the potential possibility of widespread antibiotic pollution in the country, a release from Toxics Link said.
“Most importantly, the locations where antibiotic residues are detected are not necessarily in close proximity to major pharmaceutical industrial hubs.
Therefore, the study raises concerns on the sources of antibiotic residues into these rivers which can be from both treated as well as untreated sewage,” observed Toxics Link Associate Director Satish Sinha.
Antibiotics are important life-saving medicines and play a key role in the wellbeing of human health. However, indiscriminate use and lack of regulatory standards for antibiotics in effluents from pharmaceutical industries is leading to this major health hazard, more so for India as aceIndia is one of the major users and producers of antibiotics in the world and is more prone to the ill effects of antibiotic pollution,” said Toxics Link Senior Programme Coordinator Piyush Mohapatra.
Now, focus on e-consultation: Govt
Clinical trial of plant based drug for fatty liver soon: CDRI
DCGI announces classification for 133 Medical Devices in general hospital and…
USFDA gives nod to Zydus to market Dapagliflozin tablets
CDSCO gives nod to Cipla to conduct study on Paxlovid
IPA to organise 7th Global Pharmaceutical Quality Summit
BIS sets standard for these Medical Devices
The mandatory QR codes on APIs
Latest Notifications regarding Pharmaceuticals
For informative videos on the news regarding Pharma / Medical Devices / Cosmetics / Homoeopathy etc., click on the below YouTube icon:
For informative videos by The Health Master, click on the below YouTube icon:
For informative videos on Medical Store / Pharmacy, click on the below YouTube icon:
For informative videos on the news regarding Pharma / Medical Devices / Cosmetics / Homoeopathy etc., click on the below YouTube icon:
For informative videos on consumer awareness, click on the below YouTube icon:
