World Action Needed to Prevent Widespread Antibiotic Resistance

World Action Needed to Prevent Widespread Antibiotic¹ Resistance

Since the discovery of penicillin² in 1928, we have used antibiotics³ against a host of infections. But now, doctors are finding that more and more bacteria are resistant⁴ to even the strongest antibiotics available.

In 2015, the World Health Organization warned that we are heading toward a "post-antibiotic era," when more people will die from common infections. If that happens, medical practice as we know it will change drastically.

Antibiotic resistance and reducing hospital infections are Dr. Michael Bell's specialties⁵ at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Many of the things that we take for granted in modern medicine, the ability to do surgery for example, requires antibiotics in many cases. If I get hit by a car, talented emergency medicine doctors can help me, the surgeons can put me back together but the bacteria that get into the wound will cause an infection, and if we can’t treat that infection, I can’t really be saved," he said.

If we lose effective antibiotics, Bell said it would affect everything from joint⁶ replacement⁷ surgery to cancer care.

"In India alone, there is an estimated 58,000 infants who have died because of a single resistant infection in just one year," he said.

Antimicrobial resistance

About 23,000 deaths from antimicrobial resistance also occurred in the U.S., as well as another 23,000 in the European Union in 2014, according to the CDC and the World Health Organization.  

Bell said the problem is partly one of our own making.

"For the longest time we’ve had a number of different antibiotics in the pipeline⁸ at any given time, so whenever we ran out of the ability to use one, we would move to the next one," he said. "Unfortunately, right now the number of antibiotics in the pipeline is essentially⁹ zero, maybe one, if we’re lucky. The time between now and when that’s available could be on the order of five to 10 years."

Bacteria are constantly evolving, which is normal, and those that survive the drugs designed to kill them reproduce. What you end up with is a microbe, commonly called a "germ," that no longer responds to antibiotics.

Bell says that's why it's so important to save the antibiotics that are still effective. Improper¹⁰ use is one of the key drivers for the development of antibiotic-resistant germs.

Monitoring usage

A CDC study published in 2014 found U.S. hospitals were prescribing stronger antibiotics and more of them than necessary. The CDC has since asked hospital practitioners¹¹ to monitor antibiotic use so they are using the right antibiotics for the right time and for the right duration.

"Antibiotic resistance is being generated by not only using too many antibiotics," Bell told VOA, "but also, by spread of infection by lack of hygiene¹², from unintended contact with soiled surfaces, so the infection control side is equally important."

For example, the most common complication for patients in a hospital is infection, including antibiotic resistant infections such as MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

A study by the University of Maryland Medical Center found that health care workers who wore gowns and gloves in intensive care units where the sickest patients stay reduced MRSA infections by 40 percent. The researchers also found that health care workers who followed this protocol¹³, also washed their hands more frequently after leaving patients' rooms. Frequent hand-washing also reduces the spread of infection.

Bell said patients can get involved in their own care during hospital stays.

"People can control their hygiene, they can ask about their medications, and they need to be ready to speak up in hospital settings," he said. "If you are in the hospital for any reason, you need to be ready to ask someone to wash their hands before they touch you, you need to be ready to ask what is being done to keep you safe from an antibiotic resistant infection or C-difficile (Clostridium difficile, an antibiotic resistant severe inflammation of the colon). Speaking up is hard and sometimes you need a friend. Bringing a family member may be the best way to do it, but speaking up is key."

Crucial advice

The CDC has advice for patients, as well. On its website, the CDC tells people to take all antibiotics as prescribed and to finish the course of the drugs, even if they feel better. It also tells patients not to take antibiotics left over from a previous infection.

The World Health Organization says public awareness¹⁴ of the problem is low in all regions of the world, and that many people think antibiotics, which work against bacteria only, can treat viral infections like the flu or a cold.

The WHO also says the sale of antibiotics without a prescription¹⁵ remains¹⁶ widespread in many countries. What this means is that antibiotics are being used too often and when they may not be needed.

Scientists are working on developing new drugs. But until then, doctors, pharmacies¹⁷ and patients need to take urgent action on a global level to prevent the catastrophe¹⁸ that a post-antibiotic era would cause.

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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

8 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 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。

11 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

12 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

13 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

14 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。

15 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。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

18 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。