Antibiotics traces in the aquatic environment: persistence and adverse environmental impact

Antibiotics are rightly regarded as one of the marvelous scientific discoveries of the 20th century that revolutionized both veterinary and human medicine. Nevertheless, the antibiotics have been realized as emerging environmental pollutants because of their massive administration in humans and animals and longer environmental persistence. Low concentrations of antibiotics are often detected in seawater, groundwater, surface water, and even drinking water. Parent antibiotic molecules or their metabolites are discharged into the aquatic environment giving rise to virtual or persistent ecological contamination, as well as the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, concerns have increased regarding source, occurrence, and consequences of the antibiotics or their active residues in aqueous environments. Their potential toxicity, teratogenicity, and genotoxicity on the aquatic organisms have grabbed noticeable attention as a serious environmental apprehension. This work covers up-to-date information on the occurrence, sources (surface water, underground water, and seawater), and consequences of the different antibiotics or their active residues on human health, microbiome, and various aqueous environment systems.