新闻周刊:对抗耐药菌(1)

From Cover

来源于《封面》

The Death of Antibiotics²: We’re Running Out of Effective Drugs to Fight Off an Army of Superbugs

抗生素的死亡：我们正在耗尽对抗超级细菌大军的有效药物

By David H. Freedman

作者：戴维·H.弗里德曼

In January, Columbia University revealed that four patients at its Irving Medical Center in New York had been sick with an unusual version of E. coli, a common gut³ bacterium⁴. Although the news largely escaped attention in the media, it ricocheted through the world of infectious disease experts. E. coli is a relatively⁵ common bacterium and benign⁶ when it's in the gut, where it usually lives, but in the wrong places—such as in lettuce⁷ or ground beef, or our bloodstream—it can turn deadly. When antibiotics prove ineffective against an E. coli infection, as many as half the patients with it die within two weeks.

今年1月，哥伦比亚大学披露，其位于纽约欧文医学中心的四名患者感染了一种不同寻常的大肠杆菌，这是一种常见的肠道细菌。尽管这条消息在很大程度上没有引起媒体的注意，但它却在传染病专家的圈子里引起了轩然大波。大肠杆菌是一种相对常见的细菌，当它生活在肠道时是良性的，但在错误的地方，比如生菜、碎牛肉或我们的血液中，它可能会致命。当抗生素被证明对大肠杆菌感染无效时，多达一半的患者会在两周内死亡。

That's exactly why the Columbia E. coli was so worrying. Over the past decade or two, E. coli has developed resistance to one antibiotic¹ after another. For some infected patients, their last hope is the antibiotic colistin, a toxic⁸ substance with potential side effects that include kidney and brain damage. The Columbia E. coli had a mutation⁹ in a gene¹⁰, MCR-1, that confers a terrifying attribute: imperviousness¹¹ to colistin.

这正是哥伦比亚大肠杆菌如此令人担忧的原因。在过去的一二十年里，大肠杆菌对一种又一种抗生素产生了抗药性。对一些受感染的病人来说，他们最后的希望是抗生素粘菌素，这是一种有潜在副作用的有毒物质，包括肾脏和大脑损伤。哥伦比亚大肠杆菌的一种基因发生了突变，即MCR-1，这给它带来了一个可怕的特性:粘菌素的不渗透性。

“We're looking to the shelf for the next antibiotic, and there's nothing there,” says Erica Shenoy, associate chief of the infection control unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. “We're facing the specter of patients with infections we can't treat.”

“我们正在货架上寻找下一种抗生素，但那里什么都没有，”马萨诸塞州总医院感染控制部门的副主任艾丽卡·谢诺说。“我们面临着感染我们无法治疗的病人的幽灵。”

Ever since an experimental miracle drug called penicillin¹² was rushed to a Boston hospital in 1942 to save the lives of 13 victims of a nightclub fire, medical researchers have discovered more than 100 new antibiotics. We've needed each and every one of them—and they're not enough. It's not just E. coli. Drug-resistant¹³ strains of Staphylococcus, Enterobacteriaceae and Clostridium difficile have been steadily¹⁴ overcoming antibiotics; one study found that the number of deaths due to resistant infections quintupled between 2007 and 2015. Recently, treatment-resistant versions of the fungus¹⁵ Candida auris have shown up in hospitals in New York City and Chicago, killing¹⁶ half of infected patients.

1942年，一种名为盘尼西林的实验性神奇药物被紧急送往波士顿一家医院，以挽救夜总会火灾中13名受害者的生命。自那以来，医学研究人员已经发现了100多种新的抗生素。我们需要这些抗生素，但还远远不够。不仅仅是大肠杆菌。葡萄球菌、肠杆菌科、艰难梭菌等耐药菌株稳步战胜抗生素；一项研究发现，2007年至2015年间，死于耐药感染的人数翻了五倍。最近，耐治疗的真菌念珠菌出现在纽约和芝加哥的医院，杀死了一半的感染者。

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 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

4 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

5 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。

6 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

7 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

8 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

9 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。

10 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

11 imperviousness   

不透性；不通透性；不透水

参考例句：

• I tried to erect a facade of imperviousness and self-confidence. 我竭力装出一幅不受外界干扰，十分自信的样子。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 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。

14 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

15 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

16 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。