Abuse, Overuse of Antibiotics Creates Public Health Crisis

 

Rosanne Skirble

Before the discovery of antibiotics² in the 1940s, millions of people died routinely of staphylococcus and streptococcus and more serious bacterial³ infections like meningitis, pneumonia⁴ and tuberculosis⁵. But over the years, antibiotics have become less effective because some bacteria have developed ways to survive the medicines meant to kill or weaken them. VOA's Rosanne Skirble reports on how the overuse and abuse of antibiotics is creating a public health crisis and how some communities are responding to it.
Bacteria comprise about one-20th of our body weight. Most of these organisms are harmless, like those in the intestinal⁶ tract⁷ that help us to digest our food. Others can make us really sick.
Streptococcus is a common bacteria found on the skin and in the nose, even in healthy people. But it can also cause acute respiratory illness, sinusitis, some ear infections and pneumonia.
Over the last 60 years, most serious bacterial infections have been treated with some type of penicillin⁸-related antibiotic¹. Today penicillin is not as effective as it once was. Drug-resistant⁹ bacteria are to blame. We are all at risk of getting an untreatable infection because it is the bacteria and not the person that becomes resistant to antibiotics. And those bacteria can be spread by simple physical contact.
Antibiotic resistance is not new, but what is troubling is that the number of drug-resistant bacteria is growing at the same time that the drugs used to combat them are decreasing in potency¹⁰ and number.
A new study released by the Alliance Working for Antibiotic Resistance Education, better known as AWARE, tracks the effectiveness of penicillin against Streptococcus pneumonia, a common bacterial cause of meningitis, ear infections, pneumonia and sinusitis.
It reports that in Northern California, drug-resistant cases fell from 27 percent of all infections in 2000 to 19 percent in 2002. In Southern California resistance remained at 27 percent, still lower than the 30 percent national average.
The decline is good news and in part due to the work of AWARE, a statewide partnership¹¹ that includes physician organizations, health agencies, healthcare providers and consumer and education groups. Elissa Maas is the executive director.
"The overall goals of AWARE are really three: to increase the appropriate prescribing of antibiotics, to increase the public's awareness¹² of the importance of the issue of both appropriate use antibiotic and antibiotic resistance and then mobilizing communities to take action."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50 percent of antibiotic use may be inappropriate. Elissa Maas says AWARE targets doctors who over-prescribe antibiotics and consumers who routinely demand them for everything from a headache to the common cold.
"It is about not asking for an antibiotic when we have a cold or flu bug¹³ and we go in and we want that from the doctor. We do not need it. It will not work. And, so part of this [work] is just hammering those messages over and over because they are simple behaviors that can solve the problem," she says.
And that means bombarding citizens with information in public service announcements heard on radio stations across California.
Other simple behavior changes include using the entire prescription¹⁴ and not saving or sharing the drugs with anyone. Taking an antibiotic in too small a dose or for too short a time allows the bacteria to develop mutations or to acquire drug resistance from other bacteria.
A World Health Organization report recommends aggressive action to combat drug resistant infections, which it says, "could rob the world of its opportunity to cure illnesses and stop epidemics¹⁶."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has initiated¹⁸ a campaign for the appropriate use of antibiotics, of which the California AWARE program is part. The solution, says AWARE executive director Elissa Maas requires a collaborative effort.
"I can't stress enough the word 'partner.' This issue is so gargantuan¹⁹ that no one organization is going to solve it," she says. " We have got to have the doctors involved. We have got to have the pharmacists, and nurses. We have to have the health plans. We have got to have the pharmaceutical²⁰ companies. We have got to have consumer groups. We have to have the media. Everybody has to sit there and say, 'Oh my gosh, we have a problem.'"
And from that realization²¹, Elissa Maas hopes, will come aggressive programs that the World Health Organization is urging, to ensure that the drugs we have today will be available to fight tomorrow's infections.
I am Rosanne Skirble.

注释：
antibiotics [7Antibai5Ctik] n. 抗生素
staphylococcus [7stAfilEu5kCkEs] n. [微生物] 葡萄状球菌
streptococcus [7streptEu5kCkEs] n. [微] 链球菌
bacterial [bAk5tIErIEl] adj. 细菌的
meningitis [7menin5dVaitis] n. [医] 脑膜炎
pneumonia [niu5mEu7niE] n. 肺炎
tuberculosis [tju7bE:kju5lEusis] n. 肺结核
overuse [5EuvE5ju:z] n. 过度使用
intestinal tract 肠道
sinusitis [7sainE5saitis] n. 窦炎，尤指鼻窦炎
penicillin [7peni5silin7pE5ni] n. [微] 青霉素（音译名为盘尼西林）
potency [5pEJtEnsI] n. 力量
statewide adj. 遍及全州的, 全州范围的
mobilize [5mEubilaiz] v. 动员
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 美国疾病控制预防中心
flu bug 流感病菌
hammer [5hAmE] vt. 重申，一再强调
bombard [5bCmbB:d] vt. 轰击
prescription [pri5skripFEn] n. 处方，药方
dose [dEus] n. 剂量
mutation¹⁵ [mju:5teIF(E)n] n. [生] 突变，变异
initiate¹⁷ [i5niFieit] vt. 发动，发起
collaborative [kE5lAbEreItIv] adj. 协作的，协力完成的
gargantuan [^B:5^AntjuEn] adj. 巨大的，庞大的
pharmacist [5fB:mEsIst] n. 药剂师
pharmaceutical [7fB:mE5sju:tikEl] adj. 制药的，调药的

 

1 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

2 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

3 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

4 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

5 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

6 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

7 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

8 penicillin   

n.青霉素，盘尼西林

参考例句：

• I should have asked him for a shot of penicillin.我应当让他给我打一针青霉素的。
• Penicillin was an extremely significant medical discovery.青霉素是极其重要的医学发现。

9 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

10 potency   

n. 效力，潜能

参考例句：

• Alcohol increases the drug's potency.酒精能增加这种毒品的效力。
• Sunscreen can lose its potency if left over winter in the bathroom cabinet.如果把防晒霜在盥洗室的壁橱里放一个冬天，就有可能失效。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

13 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

14 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

15 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

16 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

17 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

18 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

19 gargantuan   

adj.巨大的，庞大的

参考例句：

• My gargantuan,pristine machine was good for writing papers and playing solitaire,and that was all.我那庞大的、早期的计算机只适合写文章和玩纸牌游戏，就这些。
• Right away,I realized this was a mistake of gargantuan proportions.我立刻意识到这是一个巨大的错误。

20 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

21 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。