Patterns of pharmaceutical contamination in streams of European cities across urbanisation gradients: Potential impacts on One Health

A study of the OneAquaHealth consortium, led by Fernanda Rodrigues (University of Coimbra) on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the water at 102 urban streams of OneAquaHealth Research cities (Benevento, Coimbra, Ghent, Toulouse and Oslo) showed that 16 pharmaceuticals from 6 therapeutic groups were present in these streams. Ninety one percent of the streams had at least pharmaceutical, while mixture of pharmaceuticals was observed in 79% of the sites. The antihypertensives irbesartan and bisoprolol, as well as the anticonvulsant carbamazepine were found in more than 50% of the sites. Acetaminophen, an analgesic/antipyretic, had the highest median concentration. Important pharmaceuticals from the current European Union Watch List of emerging contaminants were also detected, such as ofloxacin (antibiotic), propranolol (antihypertensive) and fluoxetine (antidepressant). Pharmaceutical patterns differed among most of the cities. The contamination by pharmaceuticals in a global analysis (all sites together) was predicted by population but also by tree cover densities. Within some of the cities, it was predicted by morphological condition, riparian zone, and water pollution, showing that good ecological condition of the streams can lead to a positive impact regarding pharmaceuticals occurrences in water.

These results revealed a high contamination of urban streams by pharmaceuticals, which could lead to risks for the One Health. The study was published in Journal of Hazardous Materials as an open access paper and can be downloaded at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139946

Author(s): Fernanda Rodrigues, Maria João Feio, University of Coimbra, Portugal