title: A preliminary investigation on the occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in the Yellow River and its tributaries, China.
abstract: This study investigated the residues of antibiotics present in the Yellow River and its tributaries. Ofloxacin, norfloxacin, roxithromycin, erythromycin, and sulfamethoxazole, were found in the river with mean concentrations from 25 to 152 ng/L, and in certain tributaries from 44 to 240 ng/L. The other four analytes were all below the limits of quantification. The results indicated that the detected antibiotics in the middle and lower Yellow River were primarily from its tributaries and ambient wastewater discharge. The concentrations of the antibiotics detected in the river were greater than that in other rivers in Europe. The antibiotics in the river and its tributaries at ng/L concentrations found in this study are unlikely to induce lethal toxicity to aquatic organism but could cause chronic ecological effects.
authors.affiliation: South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China. whxu2002@163.com
authors.forename: Weihai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Gan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shichun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Zhenhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Guoliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical