Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health of Mexico, Cuernavaca, México.
Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Int J Drug Policy. 2021 Feb;88:103027. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103027. Epub 2020 Nov 16.
Monitoring drug use in México is a challenge due to emerging drugs and rapid changes in consumption patterns. The temporal and geographical patterns of cocaine, methamphetamine, amphetamine, MDMA, cannabis, heroin, ketamine, and fentanyl were examined in Mexican cities using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE).
105 daily composite wastewater samples were collected from sewage treatment plants in fifteen Mexican cities. We quantified drug residues using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry, and estimated drug use by back-calculation of drug loads.
We identified ten drug target residues in at least one sample across cities. Drugs with the highest median levels were cannabis, methamphetamine, and cocaine. The median range of cannabis for one week was between 147 and 20,364 mg/day/1000inhab across cities, whereas methamphetamine ranged between 5 and 3,628 mg/day/1000inhab. Cocaine was found in levels between 2 and 370 mg/day/1000inhab. The highest levels of methamphetamine and amphetamine were observed in the US border cities of Tijuana and San Luis Río Colorado. The presence of heroin, MDMA, ketamine, and fentanyl was stronger during weekends, while cannabis, cocaine, and amphetamine were found throughout the week.
This study provides the first report of fentanyl, norfentanyl, and ketamine in wastewater in Mexico. The results indicate an increased presence of drugs on known drug traffic routes, demonstrating that WBE can help identify areas of high drug use and assist governments in developing policies to reduce drug use and harm in the communities.
由于新兴毒品和消费模式的快速变化，监测墨西哥的药物使用情况是一项挑战。本研究采用基于污水的流行病学（WBE）方法，在墨西哥城市中研究了可卡因、甲基苯丙胺、苯丙胺、MDMA、大麻、海洛因、氯胺酮和芬太尼的时间和地理模式。
从墨西哥 15 个城市的污水处理厂收集了 105 份每日综合污水样本。我们使用液相色谱-高分辨率质谱法定量了药物残留，并通过药物负荷的反推来估计药物使用情况。
我们在至少一个城市的所有样本中都鉴定出了十种药物靶标残留。大麻、甲基苯丙胺和可卡因的中位数水平最高。大麻在一周内的中位数范围为 147 至 20,364mg/天/1000inhab，而甲基苯丙胺的范围为 5 至 3,628mg/天/1000inhab。可卡因的浓度在 2 至 370mg/天/1000inhab 之间。在美墨边境城市蒂华纳和圣路易斯·里奥科罗拉多，检测到的甲基苯丙胺和苯丙胺水平最高。海洛因、MDMA、氯胺酮和芬太尼在周末的存在更为显著，而大麻、可卡因和苯丙胺则在整个星期内都有发现。
本研究首次报道了墨西哥废水中存在芬太尼、去甲芬太尼和氯胺酮。结果表明，在已知的毒品贩运路线上，毒品的存在有所增加，表明 WBE 可以帮助识别高毒品使用地区，并协助政府制定减少社区内药物使用和伤害的政策。
