Despite filtration and treatment systems, river water contains methamphetamine. However, fish – which can be part of our diet – can become dependent on this drug.
- Methamphetamine belongs to the family of amphetamines.
- In the Czech Republic, this drug has been observed in concentrations equivalent to hundreds of nanograms per liter in certain surface waters.
- Fish can become addicted the same way humans do: through an activation of the dopamine-linked reward system.
What we discharge into rivers has consequences for aquatic life. Wastewater treatment plants and other treatment plants have precisely the role of cleaning wastewater to limit residues as much as possible, but some remain. This is particularly the case with medicines and drugs. In Journal of Experimental BiologyCzech scientists have studied the effects of methamphetamine on trout, to measure the consequences of river pollution by this substance.
Fish “addicted”
For two months, the researchers placed 60 trout in a tank containing one microgram of methamphetamine per liter of water, and 60 others in clean, drug-free water. Then the fish were placed in a special basin, with two streams: one with clean water, the other with drug residues. The scientists found that the fish felt a lack: those exposed for two months to methamphetamine went to water that contained residues, unlike the others who went to clean water. In the brains of trout, they observed drug residues up to ten days after exposure.
What are the consequences ?
For researchers, this addiction to the drug may lead fish to spend more time in areas where wastewater flows to find more drug residues. In an interview at CNN, Pavel Horky, one of the authors of the study, explains that this could have consequences for the entire ecosystem. “The need for drugs may become more important than natural rewards, such as foraging or mating“, he says. This theory could become reality, since the drugs are already present in wastewater: traces of methamphetamines have been found in Czech waters.
Fish addicted to Prozac
Last February, Australian researchers were also interested in the residues consumed by fish. In their study, they found that fish ingest remnants of drugs found in the ocean, including Prozac. However, for these marine animals, the consumption of antidepressants is not without consequences. Scientists have noticed “dramatic reductions in fish behavioral expression” as exposure to Prozac increased. The absorption of this pollution by fish raises a question: what are the consequences for human health? Insofar as we consume fish that have potentially ingested these substances, are we also consuming psychotropics without knowing it?
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