研究表明改善住房条件有助于抗击疟疾

 

A new study shows that improving housing conditions may help in the fight against malaria¹ at a time when other efforts be may slowing.

The World Health Organization reports that more than 400,000 people died of malaria in 2015. Most of them were children in Africa.

Study organizers note that African countries south of the Saharan desert are developing faster than many in other areas. They think architects and city planners can help in the fight against the disease.

Insecticide products have been extremely effective in limiting the spread of malaria. They have chemicals that target mosquitoes -- the insects that pass the disease to humans.

Insecticide-treated bed nets and use of the products inside buildings have helped reduce malaria death rates by 40 percent since 2000. But experts say mosquitoes are becoming resistant² to insecticides and new tools are needed to fight the disease.

Lucy Tusting of the University of Oxford³ is an expert on the spread and control of disease. She says public health experts should use the move away from traditional mud-and-thatch⁴ homes to help fight malaria.

“We do have an opportunity to tap into the changes that are ongoing⁵ in many parts of Africa in order to build healthier housing.”

Tusting and other researchers wondered if the change in housing they had noticed could help in the fight.

“What we’re seeing in many parts of Africa is a subtle⁶ transition⁷ from more traditional housing -- which might have thatched roofs and mud walls -- towards metal, tiled-roof housing with concrete walls.”

That should help because the mosquitoes mostly bite people in and around their home at night. Better design of homes, with fewer holes in the walls, could help keep the insects out. But until recently there has not been much research on the subject.

Tusting and her team examined health and population surveys from 21 countries. They found that children living in modern buildings were 9-to-14 percent less likely to have malaria than those who lived in traditional housing. That is about the same level of protection given by insecticide-treated bed nets.

“What this suggests is that housing could be an important tool in tackling⁸ malaria.”

This is not a new idea. Tusting notes that screened windows and doors were the first effective method used in the fight against malaria in the early 20th century.

She says a lot of new housing will be built in Africa over the next several years. She believes those changes can be used to help further reduce malaria infections and deaths.

“We can leverage⁹ those changes. But to do so, it’s important that health specialists reach beyond the health sector¹⁰ and work closely with architects, urban policy makers¹¹ and national governments.”

She says malaria prevention should become an important part of planning as African cities continue to grow.

Words in This Story

architect – n. a person who designs buildings

bed net – n. a device that is used for catching¹² or holding things or for keeping things out of a space and that is made of pieces of string, rope, wire, etc., woven together with spaces in between and is used to cover a bed while someone sleeps so mosquitoes do not bite them

thatch – adj. dried plant material (such as straw or leaves) that is used to make the roof of a building

tap into – phrasal verb take part in; influence

subtle – adj. hard to notice or see; not obvious; slow

transition – n. a change from one state or condition to another

survey – n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

tackle¹³ – v. to deal with (something difficult)

screened – adj. covered by a sheet that is made of very small wire or plastic strings¹⁴ which are woven together and that is set in a frame in a window, door, etc., to let air in but keep insects out

sector – n. an area of an economy; a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 subtle   

adj.难于觉察或描述的，精巧的

参考例句：

• Her whole attitude had undergone a subtle change.她的整个态度发生了微妙的变化。
• There's a subtle hint of garlic in the sauce.调味汁里稍微有一点蒜味。

7 transition   

n.转变，变迁，过渡

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.青春期是童年与成年之间的过渡时期。
• They all support a peaceful transition.他们全部都支持和平过渡。

8 tackling   

n. 扭住, 抱住, 卷起

参考例句：

• a bottom-up approach to tackling the problem 处理这个问题的自下而上的方法
• There are three essentially different ways of tackling the problem. 解决这个问题有三种根本不同的方法。

9 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

13 tackle   

n.工具，复滑车，扭倒；v.处理，抓住

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your sports tackle with you tomorrow.别忘了明天带上你的体育用具。
• We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

14 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。