## 3 Results and Discussion
[PERSON] et al. [52] reported significantly smaller concentrations of \(su2\) than \(su1\) in surface waters. In a study by [PERSON] et al. [47], \(su2\) was less prevalent than \(su1\) in bacterial isolates from activated sludge. According to [PERSON] et al. [41], \(su2\) is an important indicator of the environmental impacts of agriculture, which could explain why \(su2\) concentrations are higher in areas with a predominance of agriculture, in particular livestock  
\begin{table}
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production and aquaculture. [PERSON] et al. [2] found the highest abundance of _su1_2 in zoo wastewater. The livestock population in Warmia and Mazury is several times higher than in Silesia [58], which could imply that Warmia and Mazury is characterized by a higher contamination of animal waste and higher concentrations of _su1_2 in the environment, in particular in wastewater evacuated from animal farms. Olsztyn, the capital city of Warmia and Mazury, where MW-WWTP is situated, is the seat of Poland's largest poultry company, which specializes in turkey rearing and the production and processing of turkey meat. Wastewater from turkey farms and production plants is evacuated to MW-WWTP, which could explain the higher abundance of _su1_2 in raw sewage reaching MW-WWTP than S-WWTP. The _su1_2 gene was not identified in only one stage of wastewater treatment in MW-WWTP, whereas in S-WWTP, _su1_2 was not detected in four sampling sites. According to the literature, seasonal variations in the virulence of pathogenic microorganisms and the immune status of infected individuals are responsible for the seasonality of infectious diseases [59]. Seasonal variations are also noted in antibiotic use, and the consumption of antimicrobials is significantly higher in fall than in summer [60]. Despite the above, it appears that the prevalence of sulfonamide resistance genes in samples of river water, wastewater and sludge was not noticeably affected by season in the present study; however, this is only a preliminary case study and to determine more precise correlations the research must be expanded with quantitative analyses of ARGs. Similar observations were made by [PERSON] et al. [52], who did not report significant seasonal differences in _su1_1 copy numbers in river water and sewage sludge, but noted that the _su1_2 gene was more prevalent in spring samples. Fluorquinolones are broad-spectrum antibiotics and one of the most frequently prescribed antimicrobials. Extensive clinical use of fluoroquinolones has contributed to high resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to this group of antibiotics. In Europe, the number of hospital strains of _Escherichia coli_ and _Klebsiella pneumoniae_ resistant to fluoroquinolones increased in 2015 -2018. In 2018, the highest percentage of _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_ isolates (19.7%) were resistant to fluoroquinolones [33]. The genes conditioning bacterial resistance to fluoroquinolones include _aac(6')-lb-cr_, which encodes aminoglycoside acetyltransferase, and _qepA_, which encodes active efflux pumps [34]. In this study, both genes were detected in samples of raw wastewater. The _aac(6')-lb-cr_ gene was identified in all analyzed samples, and it was not eliminated during wastewater treatment. It was also detected in samples of river water collected upstream from effluent discharge points, which suggests that this gene also originates from other sources. The _qepA_ gene was less frequently isolated, and it was not found in river water sampled upstream from effluent discharge points. In S-WWTP, the _qep_A gene was completely eliminated from treated wastewater in summer, and it was not transmitted to the river with the evacuated effluents. This gene was present only in sewage sludge where the concentration of biological material was highest relative to the remaining samples. The _qep_A gene was less effectively removed in WM-WWTP.