Abstract
Antibiotics represent a pharmacotherapeutic group widely used in both human and veterinary medicine for which ecosurveillance has been continually recommended. It is urgent to rank the antibiotics and highlight those that may pose potential risk to the environment, a key step for the risk management. The absence of this type of contributions applied to the Portuguese reality supported the idea of compiling the data presented herein. With such purpose the most recent and representative data is used to draw a comparative contribution of each antimicrobial classes according to their intended use, i.e., in human versus veterinary medicine. The aim was to assess: (1) the amount and patterns of antimicrobials usage between human and animals; (2) the qualitative comparison between the antimicrobial classes used in each practice (human and veterinary) or specific use; (3) the potential to enter the environment, metabolism, mode of action and environmental occurrences. This manuscript will, thus, identify priorities for the environmental risk assessment, considering the ranking of the antimicrobials by their usage and potential environmental exposure. Ultimately, this study will serve as a basis for future monitoring programs, guiding the policy of regulatory agencies.
Highlights
Antibiotics are bioactive compounds, of both a natural and semi-synthetic nature, belonging to the antimicrobial group
The consumption remained at the same level for both years and with roughly the same pattern analyzing the distribution per classes of antibiotics
Considering the two years under study together (2010 + 2011), the annual used amount of the different therapeutic groups was markedly larger for penicillins, which alone accounted for more than 65.0%, followed by quinolones (13.0%), macrolides (7.0%), cephalosporins (6.0%) and sulfonamides (5.0%)
Summary
Antibiotics are bioactive compounds, of both a natural and semi-synthetic nature, belonging to the antimicrobial group. The decline of the discovery rate associated with the growing emergence of antibiotic resistant microorganisms is of concern In human medicine it resulted in high mortality rates observed in the multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in humans and the ensuing extra health care costs. In veterinary medicine it may compromise the viability of intensive livestock production because of the potential for the rapid spread of disease and the use of antibiotics as a metaphilaxic tool. There are more than 10 different groups of antibiotics which are characterized according to their structural and chemical properties Their mechanisms of action are varied, for instance interference with the cell membrane, cell wall synthesis, folic acid metabolism, protein synthesis, and DNA-dependent RNA polymerase or DNA replication of bacteria [1,2,3]. The antibiotic environmental contamination can contribute further to the increased emergence of resistance in pathogenic and environmental bacteria [5,6] and toxic effects in humans
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