VOA慢速英语--全球麻疹病例和死亡人数增加

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that measles¹ cases and deaths have increased around the world since 2016. The United Nations agency reports that the disease infected almost 870,000 last year, and killed more than 207,000. That is a 50 percent increase from 2016 levels.

The WHO says the failure to vaccinate² children is the main cause of the increase. The organization says an estimated 95 percent of the population must be fully³ vaccinated⁴ to prevent measles from spreading. But, vaccination⁵ coverage⁶ has been 70 percent to 85 percent around the world, the WHO reports.

Reported cases of measles are lower this year than last. But the WHO says the coronavirus outbreak interfered⁷ with vaccination efforts.

Natasha Crowcroft is the WHO's senior technical advisor⁸ for measles and rubella. She told VOA that different plans are needed to prevent new measles outbreaks in the time of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

"The Number One action we need to take is to prevent outbreaks from happening in countries where we have got the highest risks...and there are several where there is not the ability to be able to put the health system in place to be able to rely on," she said.

Crowcroft says countries where usual vaccinations⁹ for children were happening will recover quickly from delays during this difficult period. She says weak countries will continue to be at risk of deadly outbreaks unless fast action is taken.

The WHO reports more than 94 million people are at risk of missing vaccines¹⁰ because nationwide campaigns have been stopped in 26 countries. This led to huge outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.

Eight of the 26 countries have now restarted their campaigns. They include Brazil, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines and Somalia.

Words in This Story

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

rely – v. to trust in or depend on

1 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

2 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 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？

5 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。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

7 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。