April 04, 2025
Overview:
Antibiotics consumed by humans are often not fully metabolized and are often excreted into wastewater systems, eventually making their way into rivers and oceans. These residues, though originating from domestic sources, can persist in aquatic environments and contribute to both ecological harm and increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance.
This One Health Trust collaborative article explores a global contaminant fate model to check the environmental burden of antibiotic pollution from human use, and to assess its potential risks to freshwater and marine systems.
The Question:
How much of the antibiotics that people use worldwide each year end up in the environment, and how much do they pollute rivers and oceans?
The Findings:
The researchers found that of the 29,200 tons of antibiotics consumed annually, approximately 8,500 tons enter river systems, and 3,300 tons make it to oceans or inland sinks. Even after excluding veterinary or industrial sources, these emissions are enough to cause six million kilometers of global rivers to exceed safe concentration thresholds, especially during periods of low stream flow. The antibiotics most responsible for this pollution include amoxicillin, ceftriaxone, and cefixime. Southeast Asia is the most affected region, highlighting an urgent need for global strategies to address rising antibiotic consumption and improve wastewater management.
Read the article in PNAS Nexus here.
