Exposure pathways and ecological risk assessment of common veterinary antibiotics in the environment through poultry litter in Bangladesh

Abstract

Veterinary antibiotics (VAs) have entered the ecosystem principally through the application of organic fertilizer. However, factors influencing the contributions made by the prescribers and users thereof with respect to VAs in poultry manure have not been investigated. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to identify factors associated with the VA prescription and usage as well as to measure the residual concentration along with the ecological risk of common VAs in poultry litter in Bangladesh. Structured questionnaire surveys were conducted so as to provide an understanding the perspective of prescribers and farmers. Ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), oxytetracycline (OTC), and doxycycline (DOX) were screened through the use of thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and quantified through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Also, methods of risk quotient (RQ) were applied to assess ecotoxicity. Most VAs were prescribed without a confirmatory diagnosis. The residue of CIP was dominant with a high concentration, followed by OTC but with a low concentration. A high ecological risk was associated with the use of OTC and DOX whereas the risk associated with the use of CIP and ENR was insignificant to low. The study highlights prescriber and user factors along with the variable ecological risk of VAs in litter.

Keywords:

• Antibiotic residue
• broiler and layer
• organic farming
• poultry manure
• environmental contamination
• prescription pattern
• ecotoxicity

Acknowledgments

The authors are very much thankful to the interviewers and the DLS. They also pay their gratitude to the respondent prescribers and poultry farmers.

Conflicts of interest statement

All contributing authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The project was funded by the Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System (Project No. 2015/14/BAU) and University Grants Commission, Bangladesh (Project No. 2018/662/UGC)