Antimicrobial Drugs in Agriculture

By Mario Ritter
Broadcast: August 19, 2003
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
A study has found no serious effects after farmers in Denmark ended the use of 1)antibiotics² to increase growth in pigs and chickens. Many experts worry that too much use in food animals may add to the problem of 2)antimicrobial resistance³ in humans. Bacteria develop resistance to drugs over time.
The World Health Organization last week released⁴ a report by experts who studied the Danish example. In nineteen-ninety-nine, Denmark limited the use of drugs in food animals only to the treatment of infections. Farmers had given antibiotics to increase growth mainly in pigs and chickens.
Since then, the W-H-O report says the experts found a big drop in the levels of antibiotic¹-resistant 3)bacteria in these animals. The experts also found little, if any, increase in production costs. But the report says more studies are needed to learn how much of an effect all this will have on drug resistance in people. The report notes that cases of antimicrobial resistance in humans have been rare in Denmark.
Makers⁵ of drugs used in animals say a bigger concern should be the overuse of antibiotics by doctors to treat infections in people.
Antibiotics can be an effective way to treat dangerous kinds of bacteria like E. coli and 4)salmonella in animals. But farmers may also feed small amounts to healthy cattle, chickens and pigs. These amounts are smaller than farmers would use to treat diseases⁷.
Low doses of the drugs cause farm animals to gain weight faster. Cattle and pigs develop fat more quickly. Farmers save money. They use less food and produce more meat. They may also lose fewer animals to disease⁶.
In two-thousand-one, the United States Agriculture Department released a report on the use of drugs for the purpose of growth. The Economic Research Service said ending this use would increase production costs for farmers. And that would mean higher prices for meat.
But many scientists say they are concerned that drug-resistant bacteria may spread to humans and infect large numbers of people. In nineteen-ninety-nine the European Union banned the use of four kinds of drugs for growth purposes.
This past June, McDonald's also reacted to the concerns. The fast-food seller⁸ announced it would ask its meat suppliers to cut back their use of antibiotics except to treat disease.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Steve Ember.
注释：
1) antibiotic [7Antibai5Ctik] n.抗生素
2) antimicrobial [7Antimai5krEubiEl] adj.抗菌的
3) bacteria [bAk5tiEriE] n.细菌
4) salmonella [sAlmE5nelE] n.沙门氏菌

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 resistance   

n.抵抗力，反抗，反抗行动；阻力，电阻；反对；adj.抵抗的

参考例句：

• Very little resistance was put up by the enemy.敌人没怎么进行抵抗。
• An aircraft has to overcome the resistance of the air.飞机须克服空气的阻力。

4 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

7 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

8 seller   

n.售货者，畅销品

参考例句：

• I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。
• She drove a hard bargain with the seller.她狠杀卖主的价。