Veterinary antibiotics help protect animal health and support food production, but residues released from farms and aquaculture facilities can enter the environment and contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance. A new study has developed a high-resolution, county-level inventory of veterinary antibiotic emissions across China, offering researchers and policymakers a clearer picture of where these pollutants originate and where they may accumulate.
"Understanding where veterinary antibiotics are released is an essential first step toward controlling their environmental and public health impacts," said corresponding author Ying Zhu of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. "Our inventory provides detailed spatial evidence that can help identify emission hotspots and support more targeted pollution-control strategies."
The study, published in Artificial Intelligence & Environment, estimates emissions from ten major categories of veterinary antibiotics used in livestock farming and aquaculture.
Tracking antibiotics from farms to the environment
The researchers created an Excretion, Removal, and Emission framework, known as the ERE framework. It combines official statistics on livestock populations, aquaculture production, and farming areas with antibiotic residue measurements reported in 55 peer-reviewed studies.
For livestock farming, the model accounts for antibiotic residues excreted by swine, cattle, and poultry, as well as differences between intensive and family farms. It also considers how manure and wastewater treatment processes may remove antibiotics before they reach soil or freshwater.
For aquaculture, the team estimated emissions using aquaculture water volumes, antibiotic concentrations, water exchange rates, aquatic production, and surface-water areas. Provincial estimates were then allocated to cities and counties.
More than 23,000 tonnes estimated in 2020
Under the researchers' best-estimate scenario, approximately 23,110 tonnes of veterinary antibiotics were released into China's environment in 2020.
About 85% entered soil, primarily through livestock waste. Swine production was the largest contributor to soil emissions, accounting for an estimated 13,986 tonnes, followed by poultry at 3,279 tonnes and cattle at 2,381 tonnes.
Aquatic releases were also substantial. The estimated discharge into seawater reached 3,007 tonnes, approximately 6.6 times the amount released into freshwater.
The researchers also developed low, best-estimate, and high-emission scenarios to examine uncertainty related to farming activity, waste-treatment efficiency, and compliance with antibiotic regulations.
A tool for One Health action
The inventory can support environmental fate modeling, health-risk assessments, antibiotic stewardship, and evaluations of pollution-control policies. Its county-level resolution may help authorities identify high-risk farming areas and prioritize monitoring and intervention.
The authors note that the framework is transferable and could help other countries construct emission inventories where direct antibiotic-use data remain limited.
The study provides a practical foundation for connecting veterinary antibiotic use with environmental exposure and antimicrobial resistance risks within a One Health framework.
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Journal reference: Li S; Zhu Y. A high-resolution emission inventory of veterinary antibiotics in China. AI Environ. 2026, 1(2): 120-127. DOI: 10.66178/aie-0026-0014
https://www.the-newpress.com/aie/article/doi/10.66178/aie-0026-0014
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About the Journal:
Artificial Intelligence & Environment is an international multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on the intersection of environmental science and artificial intelligence (AI). It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient and professional platform for researchers in the cross-discipline fields of earth and environmental sciences, big data science and AI around the world to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science. It is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes critical review, original research, rapid communication, view-point, commentary and perspective papers.
