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Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

That's up from 41 million people reported by the AP in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways.

The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev.; Savannah, Ga.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Huntsville, Ala. Results are pending in three others.

The March report found only one substance in the Milwaukee area's drinking water - cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine. But other tests last year of Lake Michigan water collected more than a mile offshore found detectable amounts of cotinine and prescription medications, including pain relievers and antibiotics.

The new test results, added to data from communities and water utilities that bowed to pressure to disclose earlier test results, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drug-contaminated drinking water supplies.

The majority of U.S. cities have not tested drinking water while eight cities, including Boston and Seattle, were relieved that tests showed no detections.

The substances detected in the latest tests mirrored those cited in the earlier AP report.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks still are unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish and frogs in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

While the new survey expands the known extent of the problem, the overwhelming majority of U.S. communities have yet to test, including the single largest water provider in the country, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

In April, New York City council members insisted during an emergency hearing that their drinking water be tested. But officials subsequently declared that "the testing of finished tap water is not warranted at this time."