Distribution of macrolides, sulfonamides, and trimethoprim in tropical waters: Ubiquitous occurrence of veterinary antibiotics in the Mekong Delta

We investigated the distributions of 12 antibiotics (viz., sulfonamides, macrolides, and trimethoprim) in the water from the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, and compared them with those in the Tamagawa River, Japan. In Vietnam, only a few antibiotics (viz., sulfamethoxazole, sulfamethazine, trimethoprim, and erythromycin-H2O) were detected in the river and canals from urban and rural sites, at concentrations of 7-360 ng/L. This contrasts with the results from the Japanese urban river, where more antibiotics (sulfa methoxazole, sulfapyridine, trimethoprim, erythromycin-H2O, azithromycin, clarithromycin, and roxithromycin) were detected at concentrations ranging from 4 to 448 ng/L. The concentrations of sulfonamides in the Mekong Delta were comparable to those in the Tamagawa River, whereas macrolide concentrations were lower than those in the Tamagawa River. The ubiquitous occurrence of sulfamethazine, used as a veterinary medicine, in the waters in Vietnam at relatively high concentrations (15-328 ng/L) was unique. Extremely high concentrations of sulfamethazine [(18.5-19.2) x 10(3) ng/L] were detected in pig farm wastewaters, and relatively high concentrations were observed in canals near chicken and pig farms. All these data suggested the potential utility of sulfamethazine as a molecular marker of livestock-source contamination. The present study demonstrated widespread inputs of veterinary medicines to waters in Vietnam.