Degradation, persistence, mobility and bioavailability of veterinary pharmaceuticals in soil, water and sediment
Research
Veterinary pharmaceuticals have emerged in recent years as a contaminant of concern in the environment. While not applied to soil and water bodies directly, veterinary pharmaceuticals enter the ecosystem after being excreted by grazing livestock or by the spreading of manue on agricultural fields as fertilizer. As with other chemicals, veterinary pharmaceuticals may have detrimental effects on aquatic and terrestrial organisms, particularly on bacteria where they may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance.