Platypuses exposed to drug cocktail in Vic

Platypuses may be consuming a risky cocktail of more than 60 pharmaceuticals in water streams in Melbourne's east, new Australian-led research finds.

PLATYPUS

Research has shown platypus numbers have dropped by a third over the past 200 years. Source: AAP

Platypuses may be having a cocktail of prescription drugs up to half the prescribed human dosage in six streams in Melbourne's east, an international study reveals.

The Monash University led-study, published on Wednesday in Nature Communications, reveals the mammal and other aquatic animals may consume more than 60 pharmaceutical compounds including antidepressants in waterways.

Aquatic insects take in the pharmaceuticals and their predators - such as platypuses and brown trout - eat them and are potentially exposed to the drugs, the research finds.

"The concentrations of drugs in stream invertebrates suggest that animals such as platypuses that eat these invertebrates may be exposed to antidepressants, for example, in doses that are up to half those of human therapeutic doses," lead study author Dr Erinn Richmond said.

"Many pharmaceuticals are accumulating in aquatic invertebrates, but are also leaving the stream and moving to the surrounding landscape where they are consumed by spiders and potentially birds and bats."

The research team tested for 98 different pharmaceutical compounds in the streams.

The pharmaceuticals come into the streams through wastewater treatment facilities which don't remove all the drug compounds, or through septic tanks or leaky pipes.

Study co-author Associate Professor Michael Grace said pharmaceuticals cause physiological responses for humans, but the full effect on organisms needed further research.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP

Share this with family and friends


News

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
Independent news and stories connecting you to life in Australia and Mandarin-speaking Australians.
Understand the quirky parts of Aussie life.
Get the latest with our exclusive in-language podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
Simplified Chinese Collection

Simplified Chinese Collection

Watch onDemand
Platypuses exposed to drug cocktail in Vic | SBS Chinese