美国有线新闻 CNN 美国每年至少2.3万人死于超级细菌感染 抗生素不再神奇

 

Do you know what's not awesome¹? Antibiotic²-resistant³ germs. That's our first topic today and it's one that international health officials are very concerned about. By germs or bugs⁵, we're talking about bacteria and fungi⁶.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a government health protection agency, released a new report this week that says there are now five so-called superbugs that posed an urgent threat to humans. The last time the CDC released a report like this, they were only three germs listed in that category. The problem is that certain bacteria and fungi are getting good at surviving even when antibiotics⁷ are given for an infection.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Antibiotics are one of the miracles of modern medicine. They have saved countless⁸ lives. But there's another side to them.

The bacteria that live in our body, they've learned how to outwit many of our most powerful antibiotics. These drug resistant bacteria are called superbugs.

Every year, these superbugs infect more than 2 million people in the United States and kill at least 23,000.

Here's how a bug⁴ becomes a superbug. When you take in antibiotic, there could be some bacteria that know how to resist that antibiotic. Well, those smart bacteria, they're the ones that survived your round of antibiotics and they flourish. And that's when you get a proliferation of superbugs.

And the more that we as a community take antibiotics, the more chances the bacteria have to become resistant to them.

AZUZ: So, in the words of the latest CDC report, "some miracle drugs no longer perform miracles."

It did come with some good news. The Centers for Disease Control says the number of deaths and infections caused by germs that resist antibiotics is decreasing. It dropped 18 percent between 2013 and now. And the number of infections caught in hospitals is down.

The bad news, according to the CDC, is that there’re still too many germs that resist antibiotics, and that they can be caught anywhere in the community.

What can be done about this? The report says the answer isn't in developing more powerful antibiotics, but in using them less often. The CDC estimates that as many as one-third of the antibiotic prescriptions¹⁰ given in emergency rooms and doctor's offices aren't needed. But it doesn't entirely¹¹ blame doctors for this. It says it can be hard for them to tell when someone has a bacterial¹² infection, which antibiotics could be good for, or a viral one, which they're not.

Medical officials also say that if you're prescribed an antibiotic, you should take all of it, even after you start feeling better, because not finishing your prescription⁹ could allow any remaining bacteria to learn how to resist antibiotics.

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

7 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。

8 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

9 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。

10 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 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。