title: Occurrence and fate of oseltamivir carboxylate (Tamiflu) and amantadine in sewage treatment plants.
abstract: We investigated the occurrence and fate of the two antiviral drugs oseltamivir carboxylate (OC)-the active metabolite of Tamiflu-and amantadine (AMT) at three sewage treatment plants (STPs) during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 influenza seasons in Japan. Both compounds were detected in all samples analyzed. The concentrations in raw influents at the STPs ranged from 140 to 460 ng L(-1) OC and from 184 to 538 ng L(-1) AMT. Primary treatment gave no substantial removal of the drugs (OC, 2-9%; AMT, 7-17%). Biological nutrient-removal-based secondary treatment (anoxic-oxic-anoxic-oxic and anaerobic-anoxic-oxic) removed 20-37% of OC, whereas extended-aeration-based conventional activated sludge treatment removed <20%. STPs using primary plus biological secondary treatment removed <50% of the drugs. The incorporation of tertiary treatment by ozonation removed >90%. Ozonation after secondary treatment in STPs will be necessary during an influenza pandemic to reduce the risks associated with the widespread use of antiviral drugs.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Environmental Quality Management, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan. gopal@biwa.eqc.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Gopal Chandra
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Norihide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakada
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000547:Amantadine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D053139:Oseltamivir / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010126:Ozone / Q000737:chemistry; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D053139:Oseltamivir; D010126:Ozone; D000547:Amantadine; C535162:oseltamivir carboxylate