VOA标准英语2010年-Antibiotic Resistance Called Growing T

Vidushi Sinha | Washington, DC 18 May 2010
 
The World Health Organization calls antibiotic¹ resistance one of the three greatest threats to human health.

Experts fear antibiotic resistance puts humans in danger of becoming nearly defenseless against some bacterial² infections.

The World Health Organization calls antibiotic resistance one of the three greatest threats to human health.

Dangerous comeback

The improper³ use of antibiotics⁴ has led to strains of bacteria that are resistant⁵ to antibiotics. Experts say if efforts to combat the problem are not launched now, infections that were curable could make a dangerous comeback.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calls on American lawmakers to address the problem.

"We speak of the pre-antibiotic and antibiotic eras, but if we don't improve our response to the public health problem of antibiotic resistance, we may enter a post- antibiotic world in which we will have few or no clinical interventions⁶ for some infections," he says.

Specialists are concerned that the more an antibiotic is used, the less effective it becomes. The genetic⁷ mutation⁸ of bacteria, which makes them resistant to antibiotics, is a natural process. But drug overuse has accelerated the process.

The improper use of antibiotics has led to strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Impact of drug overuse

"You end up with very resistant bacteria in the urinary tract⁹. That's only one example. Skin infections, lung infections, different bacteria causing these types of infections as they become more and more resistant, and then you get to more severe problem like tuberculosis¹⁰ in many parts of the world," says Dr. Donald Poretz, an infectious disease specialist. "People are given little of this and little of that to treat tuberculosis and tuberculosis germs develop resistance."

One of the most lethal¹¹ infections born out of bacterial resistance  is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as MRSA which kills 19,000 people in the United States every year. 

Since 2002, about 2 million MRSA infections have been acquired in US hospitals each year. Poretz says these infections can spread globally. 

"You can have worldwide resistance, some resistant to some drugs, some resistant to other drugs in different parts of the world," he says. "And with rapid travel you can communicate those resistant bacteria to anyone here, there, there or there."

Cutting back

Drug companies have cut back on production of antibiotics, and that contributes to the problem, scientists say. Less than optimal¹² dosing means the target bacteria survive and build resistance incrementally¹³.

Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy¹⁴ and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) says profits drive pharmaceutical¹⁵ companies to shy away from antibiotics.

"So if they're going to make a choice of making a product that some, a lot of, people are going to take every day for the rest of their lives, a lipid lowering agent, whatever you have, they're going to lean towards that rather than to make a new product that a relatively¹⁶ small proportion of the population will use maybe 10 days to two weeks out of the year," said Fauci.

Experts say the solution lies in educating patients and doctors to stop using antibiotics when they are not necessary. 
 

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 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。

3 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

4 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。

5 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。

6 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

7 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

12 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

13 incrementally   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• Incrementally update the shared dimensions used in this cube. 增量更新此多维数据集中使用的共享维度。 来自互联网
• Grand goals are inspiring, but be sure to approach them incrementally. 辉煌的目标令人鼓舞，但一定要逐步实现。 来自互联网

14 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

15 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。

16 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。