Abstract:
Urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs) are among the main sources of antibiotics release into various compartments
of environment worldwide. These antibiotics have aggravated increasing anxiety, particularly as no legitimate requirements have been
set for discharge into surface water bodies of these ubiquitous, persistent and biologically active substances. Massive quantities of
antibiotics are used in human and veterinary medicine in all parts of the globe to treat diseases with bacterial, fungal and parasitic
origins. These are also largely used in animal operations for growth promotion and for disease prophylaxis .These are often partially
metabolized depending on type of antibiotics. After administration a significant fraction of the antibiotic can be excreted as a parent
compound, metabolites or in conjugate forms that can be converted back to parent antibiotic. The residual antibiotics from human and
animal use can enter the environment via various pathways, including wastewater, runoff from land in which manure or human waste
has been applied and leaching. In this study occurrence and removal of three selected antibiotics, tetracyclines, sulfonamides and
quinolones were studied in two large wastewater treatment plants in Morogoro Municipality using ELISA technique. Results indicated
that the highest mean concentrations were 27.2753±2.83878μg/l, quinolones 48.7615±7.9343.91μg/l tetracyclines and
18.7492±5.4906μg/l sulfonamides. The elimination of antibiotics through these wastewater treatment plants was incomplete. The
removal efficiency was 28.50% tetracyclines, 11.33 % quinolones and 82.32% sulfonamides at mafisa wastewater treatment plant. At
Mzumbe wastewater treatment plant removal efficiency was 2.5% tetracyclines, 7.259% quinolones and 2.28% sulfonamides.
