評論
打印
Given the enormous urgency of the problem, why is it taking so long to move promising solutions toward trials and availability? Because there's little money in it, says Tufts' Boucher. The government is sinking billions into research, but the private investment to turn that research into manufactured drugs and devices has not materialized. Drug companies, says Boucher, have little prospect of profiting off a drug that isn't likely to be taken by millions of people or fetch prices of tens of thousands of dollars per dose. “The economic model is broken,” she says.
考慮到這個問題的巨大緊迫性，為什么要花這么長時間才把有希望的解決方案推向試驗和可用性？塔夫茨大學的鮑徹說，因為里面幾乎沒有利潤。政府投入了數十億美元用于研究，但將研究轉化為制造藥物和設備的私人投資尚未實現。鮑徹說，制藥公司很難從一種不太可能被數百萬人服用或每劑售價數萬美元的藥物中獲利?！敖洕Ｊ奖淮蚱屏?，”她說。
Managing the Bugs
管理缺陷
Although antibiotics are truly miracle drugs when they work, our current problems have arisen in part because medicine has relied too heavily on them. Doctors prescribe them for ear infections, sore throats and urinary tract infections. Surgeons use them to prevent postoperative infections. Because bacteria can develop resistance, antibiotics make the most sense as part of a holistic approach to managing the spread of bacteria and dealing with infections. As antibiotics begin to lose their usefulness, medical experts are now coming around to emphasizing many-pronged strategies for keeping the bugs at bay.
盡管抗生素在發揮作用時確實是神奇的藥物，但我們目前出現的問題，在一定程度上是因為藥物過于依賴抗生素。醫生開這種藥是為了治療耳部感染、喉嚨痛和尿道感染。外科醫生用它們來預防術后感染。由于細菌會產生耐藥性，抗生素作為控制細菌傳播和處理感染的整體方法的一部分最有意義。隨著抗生素開始失去效用，醫學專家現在開始強調控制細菌的多重策略。
Being quicker off the mark to identify and respond to potential outbreaks with extra precautions and targeted antibiotics could slow or prevent outbreaks. New tests under development would allow health workers to rapidly and cheaply identify the genes of any bacteria found on or near patients. “We can't do molecular screening on every patient who walks through the door for every organism. That would be looking for a needle in a haystack,” says Shenoy. “But if we can screen high-risk patients quickly enough, we can take appropriate actions.” It would certainly be an improvement over the standard techniques for identifying bacterial outbreaks, developed 150 years ago.
通過額外的預防措施和有針對性的抗生素，更快地識別和應對潛在的疫情，可以減緩或預防疫情的爆發。正在開發的新測試將使衛生工作者能夠快速、低成本識別在患者身上或附近發現的任何細菌的基因?！拔覀儾荒軐γ恳粋€進入門內的病人進行分子篩選。那是大海撈針，”謝諾伊說?！暗绻覀兡茏銐蚩斓睾Y查高危患者，我們就能采取適當的行動?！迸c150年前發展起來的鑒定細菌爆發的標準技術相比，這無疑是一個進步。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
