Prevalence and Detection of Pharmaceuticals in Hospital Wastewater: A Case of Referral and District Hospitals in Zanzibar

Authors

  • Farid Mzee Mpatani Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2304-9953
  • Ussi Makame Kombo Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Mayassa Salum Ally Zanzibar Health Research Institute, P.O. Box 236, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Burhani Othman Simai Zanzibar Food and Drug Agency, P.O. Box 3595, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Mwanaisha Juma Fakih Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 236, Zanizibar, Tanzania
  • Saide Abdulla Mbarak Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Hassan Vuai Is-haka Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Ali Makame Ame Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Shaib Silima Mnemba Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Hajra Mohamed Haji Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Bariki Salum Juma Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Mohammed Hamduni Khamis Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Abdul-karim Ahmada Mkanga Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Suhaila Samih Muhamed Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Juma Othman Bakari Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Sauda Rashid Ismail Zanzibar Health Research Institute, P.O. Box 236, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Ayman Othman Salum Chief Government Chemist Laboratory Agency, P.O. Box 759, Zanzibar, Tanzania
  • Hassan Hija Hassan Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 236, Zanizibar, Tanzania
  • Aaron Albert Aryee College of Chemistry, Green Catalysis Center, Zhengzhou University, No.100 of Kexue Road, Zhengzhou 450001, People's Reublic of China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37256/fce.4220233043

Keywords:

detection, pharmaceuticals, wastewater, hospital, zanzibar

Abstract

Despite the great efforts taken by the developed and some developing countries in managing the release of pharmaceuticals from their primary sources to the environment; the pharmaceutical wastewater management in Zanzibar-Tanzania still has not received much attention as a bulk of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are released to the environment without proper treatment. Therefore, this study has scrutinized the incidence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater released from the referral and district hospitals in Zanzibar, to ascertain the levels of pharmaceuticals present in hospital wastewater. Purposive sampling was implemented to collect a total of seventy-two (72) wastewater samples in a period of six months (March-August 2022). Samples were collected in the effluent of wastewater-streams (Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, MMH) and pit latrines (Kivunge District Hospital (KDH) and Makunduchi District Hospitals (MDH)). The pharmaceuticals in these samples were obtained via the solid phase extraction after which they were analyzed using the LC-tandem MS (Agilent 1,290 LC coupled to 6,460-triple quadrupole MS). The limit of detections (LODs) and limit of quantitations (LOQs) for the determination of pharmaceuticals were in the range of 0.021-0.037 μg L-1 and 0.033-0.059 μg L-1, respectively. The detected analytes belonged to antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, benzodiazepine, antipsychotic, antipyretic and anticonvulsant (anti-epileptic) drugs. Diclofenac (DIC), paracetamol (PCT), ciprofloxacin (CIP), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) and azithromycin (AZM) were detected at higher concentrations (> 0.25 μg L-1) in wastewater samples collected from KDH and MDH. Lower concentrations of pharmaceuticals (< 0.10 µg L-1) were identified in MMH wastewater samples. These present findings provide estimable information on the incidence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater that can assist in strengthening the environmental strategies for the protection of marine and terrestrial life from pharmaceutical pollution in Zanzibar. 

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Published

2023-07-05

How to Cite

(1)
Mpatani, F. M.; Kombo, U. M.; Ally, M. S.; Simai, B. O.; Fakih, M. J.; Mbarak, S. A.; Is-haka, H. V.; Ame, A. M.; Mnemba, S. S.; Haji, H. M.; Juma, B. S.; Khamis, M. H.; Mkanga, A.- karim A.; Muhamed, S. S.; Bakari, J. O.; Ismail, S. R.; Salum, A. O.; Hassan, H. H. .; Aryee, A. A. Prevalence and Detection of Pharmaceuticals in Hospital Wastewater: A Case of Referral and District Hospitals in Zanzibar. Fine Chemical Engineering 2023, 4, 175-192.