lonza無血清培養基（點擊標題進入）

如果要問人類現在面臨的最大的健康問題是什么，或許你聽到的答案絕大部分都是癌癥、艾滋病或是心血管疾病等。但是，很少有人注意到一個危機已經悄悄地來到我們身邊，成為我們的心腹大患--超級菌。

事實上，這一危機的影響已經不僅僅局限在健康領域，甚至已經波及到全球經濟穩定。今年，英國首相卡梅倫委托著名經濟學家Jim O'Neill調查超級菌對世界各國各方面的影響，結果令人大吃一驚。

根據統計，目前全球每年因為抗藥性微生物感染死亡的人數為七十萬人，如果不再采取有效措施的話，這一數字到2050年將超過一千萬人，甚至超過癌癥的死亡人數。僅在歐洲和美國，每年就有約五萬人死于超級菌，到2050年，這一數字將變成現在的十倍!此外，由此而產生的花費將達到驚人的63萬億英鎊，占到了全球經濟總量的2%-3.5%。而英國的GDP目前也僅為3萬億英鎊。

Jim O'Neill介紹說這些經濟損失中包含了醫藥費用的支出以及患者因感染而導致的各種誤工等情況。他甚至認為，這一問題在短期內給人類帶來的威脅甚至超過了全球氣候變化問題。目前，抗藥性大腸桿菌、瘧疾病原體和結核桿菌時對人類威脅最大的三類病原體。

Jim O'Neill是著名的經濟學家，尤其是以其對發展中國家的研究而聞名。他提出的金磚四國(巴西、俄羅斯、印度和中國)以及薄荷四國(墨西哥、印度尼西亞、尼日利亞和土耳其)等概念也已經廣泛被接受。因此，在這項研究中他還特意指出，超級菌的威脅對于發展中國家尤為嚴重。以尼日利亞為例，到2050年，預計約有四分之一的死亡是由超級菌感染導致的。

同時，Jim O'Neill在研究中還列舉了現階段我們能夠采取哪些措施：

1 如何用藥能有效降低抗藥菌的出現

2 如何促進新型抗生素的研發

3 如何促進國際間關于應對抗生素濫用和超級菌的合作

事實上，細菌抗藥性也已經引起了生物產業界的廣泛關注。自從上世紀初青霉素問世以來，感染問題已經從過去威脅患者死亡的重大問題變為了一種常見小病。然而，由于最初對抗藥性的認識并不深入，抗生素濫用問題一直未能得到有效重視。而抗生素的研究利潤過低，又使各個生物醫藥公司對這一領域不聞不問。最終造成了抗藥菌越來越難以控制的局面。就在最近幾年，早已退出抗生素研究領域的各個生物醫藥巨頭如輝瑞等紛紛宣布重回這一領域也足以說明這一問題的嚴重性。

lonza無血清培養基（點擊標題進入）

英文原文：

Drug resistant infections will kill an extra 10 million people a year worldwide - more than currently die from cancer - by 2050 unless action is taken, a study says.

They are currently implicated in 700,000 deaths each year.

The analysis, presented by the economist Jim O'Neill, said the costs would spiral to $100tn (?63tn).

He was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron in July to head a review of antimicrobial resistance.

Mr O'Neill told the BBC: "To put that in context, the annual GDP [gross domestic product] of the UK is about $3tn, so this would be the equivalent of around 35 years without the UK contribution to the global economy."

The reduction in population and the impact on ill-health would reduce world economic output by between 2% and 3.5%.

The analysis was based on scenarios modelled by researchers Rand Europe and auditors KPMG.

They found that drug resistant E. coli, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) would have the biggest impact.

In Europe and the United States, antimicrobial resistance causes at least 50,000 deaths each year, they said. And left unchecked, deaths would rise more than 10-fold by 2050.

Graph

Mr O'Neill is best known for his economic analysis of developing nations and their growing importance in global trade.

He coined the acronyms Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and more recently Mint (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey).

He said the impact of the would be mostly keenly felt in these countries.

"In Nigeria, by 2050, more than one in four deaths would be attributable to drug resistant infections, while India would see an additional two million lives lost every year."

Global map of deaths

The review team believes its analysis represents a significant underestimate of the potential impact of failing to tackle drug resistance, as it did not include the effects on healthcare of a world in which antibiotics no longer worked.

Joint replacements, Caesarean sections, chemotherapy and transplant surgery are among many treatments that depend on antibiotics being available to prevent infections.

The review team estimates that Caesarean sections currently contribute 2% to world GDP, joint replacements 0.65%, cancer drugs 0.75% and organ transplants 0.1%.

This is based on the number of lives saved, and ill-health prevented in people of working age.

Without effective antibiotics, these procedures would become much riskier and in many cases impossible.

The review team concludes that this would cost a further $100tn by 2050.

Mr O'Neill said his team would now be exploring what action could be taken to avert this looming crisis.

This would include looking at:

o how drug use could be changed to reduce the rise of resistance

o how to boost the development of new drugs

o the need for coherent international action concerning drug use in humans and animals

Mr O'Neill said the support of the Bric and Mint nations was vital.

He noted that China would be hosting the G20 summit in 2016 and said he hoped this issue would be a focus of discussion.

'Compelling'

He said scientists seemed more certain that drug resistance would be a major problem in the short term, than they were over climate change.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, the director the Wellcome Trust, said: "By highlighting the vast financial and human costs that unchecked drug resistance will have, this important research underlines that this is not just a medical problem, but an economic and social one too."

Prof Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, said: "This is a compelling piece of work, which takes us a step forward in understanding the true gravity of the threat."

The review team concludes that solving the problem of drug resistance will be far cheaper than doing nothing and there was "cause for optimism" that the right steps could be taken.

This included university researchers and biotech entrepreneurs "teeming with ideas" including new drugs, vaccines and alternative therapies such as antibodies.

Investment

Laura Piddock, professor of microbiology at the University of Birmingham, is focusing her research on bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella, which are responsible for a growing level of drug resistant infections.

Both are so-called gram-negative bacteria, which have a complex cell wall that acts as a barrier to drugs. If they do penetrate the wall, they are "vacuumed out" by the cell.

She said: "My team is looking at what are the switches in those bacteria which turn that vacuum cleaner off, and at molecules which would have the same effect. If we can do that, we can make the bacteria sensitive to antibiotics."

Prof Piddock said there had not been enough global investment in finding new drugs.

She said: "It is very difficult to find drugs against bacteria like E.coli because they are so naturally resistant.

"We need more investment and new business models to ensure the pipeline is filled with promising molecules, to ensure that we can solve this problem, and make sure the drugs are there when patients need them."

lonza無血清培養基（點擊標題進入）

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