Effects of efluent from a hospital in Mexico on the embryonic development of zebrafish Danio rerio.

Abstract

Hospitals consume a large amount of water, so they also generate large amounts of wastewater, which contain a wide variety of contaminants. It is important to consider that hospital ef!uents are a mixture of pollutants that can interact with each other and have a negative impact on aquatic species of water bodies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects induced by a hospital ef!uent using Danio rerio embryos. In this study, Danio rerio embryos were exposed to different concentrations of the hospital ef!uent and a lethality test was evaluated and the malformations present in zebra"sh embryos were evaluated. The lethal concentration of ef!uent 50% was 6.1% and the effective malformation concentration was of 2.5%. The teratogenic index was 2.45%. The main malformations identi"ed were yolc sac malformation, pericardial edema, hatching abnormalities, hypopigmentation, tail deformation, chorda malformation, without "n, chorion deformation and craniofacial malformation. The risks that this type of water represents for the survival of living organisms, as well as the pres- ence of malformations in them, are reference indicators for a future regulation focused on the adequate treatment of hospital ef!uents.