The Prof. Francisco Laborda, director of the GEAS group, has published a scientific article in the Water magazine related to the presence of antibiotics in the Ebro river basin and the identification of their emission sources. Conclusions that come from the work carried out over 4 years in the European Project Outbiotics EFA183/16, in which the GEAS group participates.
The work publishes the results on the monitoring of the contents of selected antibiotics (azithromycin, enrofloxacin, trimethoprim and sulfadiazine) both in rivers of the Ebro basin in the northern Spain, such as those found in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In sample collection campaigns carried out between the years 2018 and 2020. The analyzes of the antibiotics were carried out with the LC-MS/MS technique (double quadrupole mass spectrometry associated with high resolution liquid chromatography), an analytical technique very sensitive that is capable of detecting very small contents of the order of ng/mL (parts per billion).
In this work, an ANOVA study (analysis of variance) is carried out to find significant variations in antibiotic concentrations upstream and downstream of possible polluting emission centers of these antibiotics, in places close to hospitals, EDARS and extensive areas of agricultural and livestock farms.
The antibiotic enrofloxacin appears as a contaminant in significant concentrations, especially due to the activity of extensive livestock farms, while the antibiotic azithromycin has been detected and quantified in significant concentrations mainly in the EDARS.
For more information, and an indication of the sampling points and the concentrations of antibiotics found, together with the analytical procedures and the conclusions obtained, consult the article in the following link: hhttps://www.mdpi. com/2073-4441/14/7/1033/htm