大多肝炎感染者自己不知情

Most People with Hepatitis Don't Know It 大多肝炎感染者自己不知情

From VOA Learning English this is the Health & Lifestyle Report.

The first-ever World Hepatitis Summit was held in September of this year in Glasgow, Scotland. Health experts estimate that about 400 million people are infected with the viral disease.

Viral hepatitis infections kill nearly 1 million people a year. The majority of cases are in Asia and in African countries south of the Sahara.

A vaccine¹ and treatment for some forms of hepatitis are now available. But whether patients have enough money to pay for treatments is a different story.

The World Health Organization says high cost of drugs is one big problem in fighting hepatitis. Another problem is the fact that most people living with hepatitis do not know they are infected.

Hepatitis explained

There are five different hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D and E. All five cause inflammation of the liver. The organ can become enlarged and painful.

Hepatitis A, E and D

Hepatitis A and E are spread through infectious waste in food or water. These forms of the disease cause acute infection. However, most people recover. The best way to prevent Hepatitis A is by getting a vaccination². But the U.S. Federal Drug Agency has yet to approve a vaccine for Hepatitis E.

Hepatitis E is usually found in countries with polluted water supplies and poor waste treatment systems. Hepatitis D only infects people already infected with the B virus.

Hepatitis B and C are a different story

Hepatitis B and C can be the most serious. Those two types are responsible for 80 percent of all liver cancer deaths.

Dr. Stefan Wiktor is the Team Lead of the World Health Organization's Global Hepatitis Program. He says hepatitis B and C are also different from the other types in how they are spread.

“Hepatitis B and C are transmitted by blood. So that means from a mother to a child; through blood transfusions⁴ or through injections. Hepatitis B can also be transmitted by sex. So, there are different routes of transmission.”

You can get hepatitis B from sexual contact or by sharing drug-injection equipment. The best way to prevent Hepatitis B is by getting vaccinated⁵. Hepatitis B is common worldwide, especially in many parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

With hepatitis C, most people become infected by sharing instruments like needles. The majority of infected persons with hepatitis C might not know they are infected because they do not feel sick. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease.

Available treatments

Dr. Wiktor says there are ways to prevent all types of hepatitis.

“Luckily, we have ways to prevent all of them. There's a great vaccine for Hepatitis B that is effective for life. And there are treatments for both B and C. So, there are now in hand means of preventing and treating both infections. So, really, this is a time to act and that’s really the point of this summit.”

Not so long ago, treating Hepatitis C was difficult with a very low recovery rate. Now, people are able to be cured completely of the virus. Dr. Wiktor considers this a major development.

“One of the most remarkable⁶ advances in the development of medicines is the development of treatments for hepatitis C. Until recently, it was very difficult to cure. It required weekly injections and only half the people who started the medicines were cured. Now, the medicines are about 12 weeks of treatment. One pill a day and almost everyone is cured. And cured means the virus is gone from their body.”

Although a vaccine and treatments are available, says Dr. Wiktor, not everyone in need can get them. He says this is a big problem. The Global Hepatitis Program says that about 240 million people are infected with chronic⁷ hepatitis B. And anywhere between 130 and 150 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C.

“The problem has been that these medicines are very expensive. In the U.S., for example, they cost more than $100,000 to treat one person just for the medicines. Luckily, the lower income countries have been able to get these same medicines at (a) much lower price. But a lot more has to happen to make these drugs affordable⁸.”

One of the goals of the recent summit was to urge countries to develop national hepatitis treatment and prevention programs.

The WHO says people need to be aware how the disease spreads and how to treat it. If left untreated, hepatitis kills slowly. It can take 10 or more years for the virus to destroy the liver. 

Word in This Story

chronic – adj. medical continuing for a long time; long-term

transmit – v. to cause (a virus, disease, etc.) to be given to others

blood transfusion³ A blood transfusion is a safe, common procedure in which blood is given to you through an intravenous (IV) line in one of your blood vessels⁹.

contaminate – v. to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure¹⁰ by adding something harmful or undesirable¹¹ to it

remarkable – adj unusual or surprising : likely to be noticed

advances – n. progress in the development or improvement of something

injection – n. the act or process of forcing a liquid medicine or drug into someone or something by using a special needle

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

3 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

4 transfusions   

n.输血( transfusion的名词复数 )；输液；倾注；渗透

参考例句：

• Still, transfusions have apparently never spread the disease, even among hemophiliacs. 还有，输血很明显从未传播过这种病，即使在血友病人之间也是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 口蹄疫疯牛病
• Blood transfusions are a special, limited example of tissue transplantation. 输血是一个特殊的、有限制的组织移植的例子。 来自辞典例句

5 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 impure   

adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的

参考例句：

• The air of a big city is often impure.大城市的空气往往是污浊的。
• Impure drinking water is a cause of disease.不洁的饮用水是引发疾病的一个原因。

11 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。