VOA慢速英语2019 麻疹在萨摩亚因50多人死亡而受到谴责（在线收听）

Measles Blamed for More than 50 Deaths in Samoa

The government of Samoa announced on Monday that five more children had died within the past day from measles.

That raises the number of measles deaths on the Pacific island nation to 53 since late October. Forty-eight of the victims were children.

萨摩亚政府周一宣布，过去一天又有五名儿童死于麻疹。

自十月下旬以来，太平洋岛屿国家的麻疹死亡人数上升至53，48名受害者是儿童。

The government has closed schools and is restricting travel before the Christmas holiday season.

政府已关闭学校，并在圣诞节假期之前限制旅行。

The French news agency AFP reports that the government said almost 200 new measles cases had been recorded since Sunday. There was no sign of the rate of infection slowing on Samoa, even with a mass vaccination program in effect.

This is the latest outbreak of a worldwide epidemic of measles. The highly infectious virus found an at-risk population in Samoa. The World Health Organization, WHO, says only about 31% of the population was vaccinated when the outbreak started.

法国新闻社法新社报道，政府表示，自周日以来已记录了近200例新的麻疹病例。 即使有大规模疫苗接种计划，也没有迹象表明萨摩亚的感染率减慢。

这是世界范围内麻疹流行的最新爆发。 高度传染性病毒在萨摩亚发现了高危人群。 世卫组织世界卫生组织说，疫情开始时只有大约31％的人口接种了疫苗。

Now there are more than 3,700 cases of measles recorded among the 200,000 people on the islands.

Samoa has been racing to give vaccines to children since declaring a state of emergency on November 20. It has vaccinated over 58,000 people to date, the government said on Monday.

现在，岛上的20万人中记录了3,700例麻疹病例。

自11月20日宣布进入紧急状态以来，萨摩亚就一直在向儿童注射疫苗。迄今为止，萨摩亚已为58,000多人接种了疫苗。

Measles rising around the world

Measles cases are rising worldwide, even in wealthy nations, such as Germany and the United States. Some parents have religious reasons for not vaccinating their children or oppose the idea of immunization. Others fear that the vaccines could cause autism, which doctors say is not true.

Other nations, through either poverty or poor planning, have let immunization levels decrease. This leaves many youngsters exposed to a virus that aggressively attacks the body's natural defenses against disease.

即使在德国和美国等富裕国家，麻疹病例也在全球范围内上升。 有些父母出于宗教原因不给孩子接种疫苗或反对免疫的想法。 其他人担心疫苗会导致自闭症，医生说这是不正确的。

其他国家由于贫穷或计划不周而降低了免疫水平。 这使许多年轻人接触到一种病毒，该病毒会积极攻击人体抵抗疾病的天然防御能力。

WHO warned in October of a damaging comeback in measles epidemics as the number of reported cases rose by 300 percent in the first three months of 2019.

Reported measles cases are the highest they have been in any year since 2006, WHO said.

世卫组织在10月警告说，由于2019年头三个月报告的病例数增加了300％，麻疹流行病再次卷土重来。

世卫组织说，报告的麻疹病例是自2006年以来任何一年以来最高的。

Measles in the Pacific

Measles caused devastation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Ukraine, among others nations. Then many measles cases started appearing earlier this year in Auckland, New Zealand. The city is a center for travel to and from small Pacific islands.

Doctor Helen Petousis-Harris is a vaccine specialist at the University of Auckland. She said there were areas where immunization rates had decreased, enabling the disease to take hold.

麻疹在刚果民主共和国，马达加斯加和乌克兰以及其他国家造成破坏。然后，今年初在新西兰奥克兰开始出现许多麻疹病例。该城市是往返太平洋小岛的旅行中心。

Helen Petousis-Harris医生是奥克兰大学的疫苗专家。她说，有些地区的免疫率下降了，使这种疾病得以控制。

"It's about being a good global citizen really, in that we all have to do our bit," Petousis-Harris said. "I don't think the response here has been a shining example."

Petousis-Harris说：“这实际上是要成为一个好的全球公民，因为我们所有人都必须尽自己的一份力量。” “我认为这里的反应不是一个光辉的例子。”

Local media reports that Samoan officials blamed low coverage rates in Samoa in part on fears caused last year when two babies died after receiving vaccinations. The country's immunization program was temporarily suspended. The deaths were later found to have been caused by medications that were wrongly mixed.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said it was time to immunize everyone in Samoa aged 60 and under. In his message, Tuilaepa said "vaccination is the only cure," adding that no traditional healers or other methods can cure measles.

当地媒体报道说，萨摩亚官员将萨摩亚的低覆盖率归咎于萨摩亚的低覆盖率，部分原因是去年两个疫苗接种后婴儿死亡的担忧。该国的免疫计划被暂时中止。后来发现死亡是由于错误混合药物引起的。

总理图埃莱帕·塞莱勒·马利埃莱盖瓦伊说，现在该为萨摩亚60岁及以下的所有人进行免疫了。图伊拉耶帕在致辞中说：“接种疫苗是唯一的方法。”他补充说，传统的治疗师或其他方法都不能治愈麻疹。

Words in This Story

outbreak – n. a sudden start or increase of fighting or disease

epidemic – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people

autism – n. a condition or disorder that begins in childhood and that causes problems in forming relationships and in communicating with other people

bit – n. a part of something