APPLYING IDEXX SNAP TESTING KITS TO TEST FOR ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES IN WATER

Antibiotics are an emerging environmental contaminant. Their presence is increasing in the environment due to excessive distribution of antibiotics to livestock and humans. Present antibiotics in groundwater occur at concentrations benign to humans; however the danger lies within the increased potential of antibiotic resistant bacteria and their anthropologic and ecologic effects. Antibiotics enter water through human, industrial, and animal waste resulting from treatment plants, hospitals, and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). CAFOs house a disproportionate number of animals in tight quarters and administer excessive amounts of antibiotics to prevent disease and promote growth resulting in excreted antibiotics through urine and feces (Ebner, 2007) (Zhang, 2014). The manure produced harbors antibiotics that are dumped or leached into waterways. Monitoring these antibiotic contaminants helps assess their environmental impact quantitatively and qualitatively. Current methods to test for antibiotics take one week, require intense organic chemistry, and cost around $500 for a 1L sample. IDEXX SNAP kits are potentially a cheap, convenient, and quick on site testing alternative. These test kits are currently used to monitor the presence of antibiotics in milk. The purpose of this research is to determine if IDEXX SNAP kits have a viable application towards testing water. Upon completion of the project, predicted results will promote monitoring of antibiotics in groundwater as well as raise awareness of these contaminants.