台湾,被确定为亚洲贩毒链中的关键,一直在经历与非法药物有关的问题激增。基于废水的流行病学(WBE)已成为全面评估实际非法药物使用情况的一种有希望的方法。这项研究基于对台北都会区四个污水处理厂(WWTP)的废水的分析,提出了WBE对台湾非法药物消费的首次调查。此外,它表明,在很长一段时间内,缉获的非法药物数量与流入浓度之间存在高度相关性。对16种非法药物(甲基苯丙胺,氯胺酮,可卡因,可待因,美沙酮,吗啡,哌替啶,芬太尼,舒芬太尼,对甲氧基苯丙胺(PMA),对甲氧基甲基苯丙胺(PMMA),3,4-亚甲二氧基甲基苯丙胺(MDMA),卡西诺酮,甲卡西酮,甲氧麻黄酮(MEPH),和4-甲基乙卡西酮(4-MEC))。甲基苯丙胺,氯胺酮,4-MEC在所有废水样品中都被一致检测到,强调了它们在台北都会区的流行。生化需氧量(BOD)和氨氮(氨氮)被用来减少非法药物消费反算过程中人口规模估计的不确定性。结果表明,甲基苯丙胺是消耗最多的药物(175-740mgday-11000人-1),其次是氯胺酮(22-280毫克天-11000人-1)。此外,与城市相关的污水处理厂的甲基苯丙胺和氯胺酮消费量高于与郊区相关的污水处理厂,表明郊区和城市地区之间不同的非法药物使用模式。此外,对迪华污水处理厂废水的时间趋势的检查显示,氯胺酮和甲基苯丙胺的持续优势,与癫痫发作数量和尿检结果的统计数据一致。这项研究为台北都会区非法药物使用的时空变化提供了令人鼓舞的见解,强调WBE在了解非法药物滥用趋势方面的补充作用。
Taiwan, identified as pivotal in the Asian drug trafficking chain, has been experiencing a surge in illicit drug-related issues. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a promising approach for comprehensive evaluation of actual illicit drug usage. This study presents the first WBE investigation of illicit drug consumption in Taiwan based on the analysis of wastewater from four wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Taipei metropolitan area. Additionally, it demonstrates a high correlation between the amounts of illicit drugs seized and influent concentrations over an extended period of time. The reliability of solid-phase extraction and analysis via high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was validated for 16 illicit drugs (methamphetamine, ketamine, cocaine, codeine, methadone, morphine, meperidine, fentanyl, sufentanil, para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA), para-methoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), cathinone, methcathinone, mephedrone (MEPH), and 4-methylethcathinone (4-MEC)). Methamphetamine, ketamine, and 4-MEC were consistently detected in all wastewater samples, underscoring their prevalence in the Taipei metropolitan area. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia nitrogen (ammonia N) were employed to reduce uncertainty in estimations of population size during back-calculation of illicit drug consumption. The results indicate that methamphetamine was the most consumed drug (175-740 mg day-1 1000 people-1), followed by ketamine (22-280 mg day-1 1000 people-1). In addition, urban-related WWTPs exhibited higher consumption of methamphetamine and ketamine than did the suburban-related WWTP, indicating distinct illicit drug usage patterns between suburban and urban regions. Moreover, an examination of temporal trends in wastewater from the Dihua WWTP revealed a persistent predominance of ketamine and methamphetamine, consistent with statistical data pertaining to seizure quantities and urine test results. The study provides encouraging insight into spatial and temporal variations in illicit drug usage in the Taipei metropolitan area, emphasizing the complementary role of WBE in understanding trends in illicit drug abuse.