The largest chicken meat producer in the United States says it will stop giving its birds antibiotics that doctors use to treat humans. Tyson Foods made the announcement April 28. It said it plans to complete the change by 2017.
美国最大的鸡肉生产商表示将会停止给禽类喂食医生给人类治病所用的抗生素。美国泰森食品公司于4月28日宣布了这一消息。该公司表示计划在2017年前完成这一转变。
Health experts say overuse of the medicines is part of the reason more bacteria are becoming resistant to them.
健康专家表示，过度使用药物是更多细菌对此产生耐药性的原因之一。
Farmers have fed livestock small amounts of antibiotics for many years. The drugs help the animals grow faster and prevent the spread of sickness among farm animals that live close together.
农民们多年来一直给家畜喂食小剂量抗生素。这些药物可以帮助这些动物生长更快，并防止疾病在密集喂养的农场动物之间传播。
But bacteria living in and on the animals develop and become immune to the drugs. In other words, the antibiotics no longer have any effect. These drug-resistant bacteria then enter the bodies of people who eat the birds or livestock. Then, infections in humans become more costly and difficult to treat. Sometimes, treatment does not work at all.
但是动物身上的细菌不断发展并对这些药物产生免疫力。换句话说，这些抗生素不再有任何效果。这些耐药细菌然后进入食用禽类或家畜的人类的身体之中。然后人类感染变得更加难以治疗，费用也更加昂贵。有时治疗完全无效。
Donnie Smith is the president of Tyson Foods. He says the company has already begun reducing its use of antibiotics.
唐尼·史密斯（Donnie Smith）是美国泰森食品公司总裁。他说，该公司已经开始减少使用抗生素。
"As a result of our efforts, only a very small percentage of our chicken flocks receive human antibiotics today."
“作为我们努力的结果，现在我们的鸡群只有很小比例服用人类抗生素。”
He says the company will stop giving its birds antibiotics by the end of 2017.
他说该公司将在2017年底停止给禽类投食抗生素。
Sasha Stashwick is a policy expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and environmental group. The NRDC has been calling for an end to the use of antibiotics in animals for many years. Ms. Stashwick says other companies have recently announced their decision to end the use of the medicine in the animals they produce.
萨沙·斯塔什维克（Sasha Stashwick）是自然资源保护委员会和环境组织的政策专家。自然资源保护委员会多年来一直呼吁停止对动物使用抗生素。斯塔什维克女士表示，其它公司最近也已经宣布决定停止对他们生产的动物使用抗生素。
"...we're seeing that over a third of the industry at this point either has eliminated the use of medically-important antibiotics in its production or has made a public commitment to do so within the next few years."
她说，“我们看到目前该行业超过三分之一的公司要么已经淘汰了对其产品使用医学上非常重要的抗生素，要么已经公开承诺在未来几年内实现这点。”
While the use of antibiotics in birds and livestock is decreasing in the U.S. and Europe, it is expected to increase in the developing world. There is a growing demand for meat there. Livestock producers in those countries are using methods that require antibiotics to keep animals healthy.
尽管对禽类和家畜使用抗生素在美国和欧洲正在减少，预计这种行为在发展中国家却有所增长。发展中国家对肉类存在不断增长的需求。这些国家的家畜类生产商都在使用抗生素维持动物健康。
Ramanan Laxminarayan is the director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy. He says Tyson's announcement shows food producers can continue to operate without using the drugs.
Ramanan Laxminarayan是美国疾病动态、经济和政策中心的主任。他说，泰森食品公司的公告显示食品生产商可以在不使用药物的情况下继续经营。
Mr. Laxminarayan says if producers provide cleaner living conditions and better nutrition for their animals, they will not need to give them antibiotics. But he says the buying public must pressure farmers to stop using the drugs.
Laxminarayan先生表示，如果生产商为动物提供更加清洁的生存条件和更好的营养，他们就不再需要对动物使用抗生素。但他表示，消费者必须对农民们施加压力让他们停止使用药物。
I'm Marsha James.
我是玛莎·詹姆斯（Marsha James）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)