Antibiotics found in Yamuna water samples: Govt

Antibiotics was found in Yamuna's water samples during tests conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Lok Sabha was informed today.
Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Sanwar Lal Jat said this while responding to question on whether presence of antibiotics has been confirmed through test of water samples of the river.
"Yes. Yamuna water samples collected by AIIMS at six locations from Wazirabad to Sarita Vihar were subjected to analysis using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectroscopy for most of the widely-used antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, amoxycillin, sparfloxacin, gentamicin, erythromycin and azithromycin," Jat said.

He said the antibiotics are in prevalent use for upper respiratory tract infections and secondary infections after cold and flu.
"Most of the antibiotics tested belong to four major classes, which are extensively used in clinical practice in various government/private hospitals/clinics for various infections based on their microbial spectrum and sensitivity," he said.
The minister also listed measures taken by the Central Pollution Control Board for preventing waste being drained into the river including special drives against 17 categories of industries along Yamuna, environmental auditing, promotion of low-waste technology, installing continuous water quality monitoring system among other.