Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Local sources: The Israeli force, which crossed into southern rural Damascus, has reached the town of Qatana, located just 10 kilometers from the Syrian capital
Local sources: An Israeli ground unit, comprising more than 15 military and armored vehicles, carried out an incursion into southern rural Damascus from the occupied Syrian Golan
Belgian court orders regional government to stop military exports to Israel, Belga reports
Latin Patriarchate in occupied al-Quds: The Holy Family Church in Gaza was subjected to Israeli shelling, resulting in injuries, including Father Gabriele Romanelli
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in France: Georges Abdallah’s lawyer has officially informed him of the court’s decision granting his release
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One was martyred in a raid that targeted the town of Kfour, Nabatieh District
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One was martyred in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a truck in the town of Naqoura
Defense Attorney: Lebanese activist George Ibrahim Abdallah will be released on July 25
Georges Abdallah's defense attorney: The decision to release Lebanese activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah will be issued in a few minutes
The French judiciary decided to release Lebanese activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah after 41 years of detention

World's rivers tremendously polluted by drugs

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 15 Feb 2022 19:11
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

Scientists warn that pollution from pharmaceuticals pose a "global threat to human and environmental health."

  • x
  • World's rivers tremendously polluted by drugs
    Pharmaceuticals "are almost omnipresent in rivers across the world" (nrdc.com)

According to a recent study, the concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in rivers globally "pose a threat to environmental and human health."

Pharmaceuticals and other biologically active substances used by people are known to harm animals, and antibiotics in the environment increase the chance of drug resistance, one of humanity's biggest concerns.

The scientists measured the concentration of 61 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at more than 1,000 sites along 258 rivers and in 104 countries, covering all continents.

Only Iceland and a Venezuelan town where indigenous people do not utilize modern medications were unpolluted.

The most often found APIs were carbamazepine, an anti-epileptic medicine that is difficult to break down, metformin, a diabetic medication, and caffeine.

Antibiotics were identified at unsafe levels in one out of every five locations, and many sites contained at least one API at levels deemed toxic for animals, including impacts such as the feminization of fish.

APIs end up in rivers after being consumed by humans and cattle and excreted into the sewage system or directly into the environment, while some may also leak from pharmaceutical plants.

API levels were extremely high in Lahore, Pakistan, La Paz, Bolivia, and Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Madrid, Spain, was in the top 10 percent of places with the greatest cumulative concentrations, while Glasgow, UK, and Dallas, US, were in the top 20 percent.

"The World Health Organization and UN and other organizations say antimicrobial resistance is the single greatest threat to humanity – it's a next pandemic," said John Wilkinson, at the University of York, in the UK, and who led the study, which involved 127 researchers from 86 institutions.

Related News

Indonesia court orders compensation of families of cough syrup victims

China's Sinovac hits back at US military campaign discrediting vaccine

The Kai Tak River in Hong Kong had the most APIs in a single location, with 34 separate APIs.

The greatest drug concentrations were discovered in low-to-middle income nations such as India and Nigeria.

According to a study published in January, 5 million individuals died in 2019 from antibiotic-resistant bacterial illnesses.

The study's locations with the most antibiotic-resistant damage closely correlate with those with the most drug pollution, indicating that river contamination may be a factor in driving up resistance.

One location in Bangladesh found metronidazole levels more than 300 times higher than the acceptable limit, presumably due to leakage from pharmaceutical manufacture.

Metronidazole levels were discovered to be more than 300 times higher than the legal limit in one place in Bangladesh, likely owing to leakage from pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The study did not include measurements of illegal drugs such as cocaine and MDMA, which have been detected in rivers at levels harmful to wildlife, although future analysis of the samples may do this.

Wilkinson said, "good sewage connectivity and wastewater treatment is the key to minimizing, though not necessarily eliminating, pharmaceutical concentrations."

Another method to minimize pollution, he says, is to use drugs more cautiously, particularly antibiotics, which are widely available without prescription in many countries and are commonly used needlessly, for example, to treat colds.

Prof Joakim Larsson, of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who was not part of the study researchers said pharmaceuticals "are almost omnipresent in rivers across the world."

“The study shows that a fairly large set of pharmaceuticals exceed ‘safe levels’, and often at a very large number of sites. Bacteria do not respect national borders, so if a new resistant bacterium develops on one side of our planet, it soon becomes a risk for everyone.”

  • pharmaceuticals
  • Pollution

Most Read

An Israeli soldier abandons an excavator during an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades. Arabic text reads "The moment the soldier fled", July, 10, 2025 (Al Qassam Military Media)

Israeli media rue al-Qassam footage, alarmed by fighters among troops

  • Politics
  • 11 Jul 2025
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after an Iranian attack at the al Udeid Airbase outside of Doha, Qatar, June 25, 2025 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Satellite images show Iran attack damaged US comms dome in Qatari base

  • Politics
  • 11 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Credible reports, including some from Israeli media itself, indicate that Tel Aviv had pinned its hopes on what can only be described as a delusional plan. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Jebraily: Iran strikes rewrote regional deterrence rules - Exclusive

  • MENA
  • 15 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Druze from Syria protest in the Israeli-occupied Majdal Shams of the occupied Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Syria's Druze leaders divided over ceasefire; IOF vow more operations

Special Envoy of the Iranian Foreign Minister and his Assistant for West Asian Affairs, Raouf Sheibani. (IRNA)
Politics

Iran will not yield to snapback threats: Iran FM advisor - Exclusive

Mourners attend the funeral of the Palestinian teenager Amjad Nassar Awad Hawshiya, 15, who was killed in an Israeli raid, in the West Bank village of Yatta, south of al-Khalil, Tuesday, July 1, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' transfers Ibrahimi Mosque authority to settler council

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington (AP)
Politics

Trump admin. to deny bond hearings for undocumented immigrants

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS