VOA慢速英语--“登革热也会致死”拉丁美洲面临两种流行病

'Dengue Kills Too' - Latin America Faces Two Epidemics²

The coronavirus is killing³ thousands and commanding government attention across Latin America. But another deadly viral infection remains⁴ a problem for the region: dengue.

Dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes, has been called "breakbone fever" for the severe physical pain it causes.

Doctors and health officials are concerned about the effect of COVID-19, the breathing disorder⁵ caused by the virus, on Latin American countries. They say COVID-19's arrival has pulled attention and resources away from the fight against dengue.

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) expects 2020 to be marked by high rates of dengue across the region.

Around the world, COVID-19 has affected⁶ other diseases in different ways. In Europe, measures to stop the coronavirus have banished⁸ seasonal⁹ influenza¹⁰. But in Africa, border closures have stopped transportation of measles¹¹ vaccines¹² and other supplies.

In Latin America, a dengue epidemic¹ that started in late 2018 is still present. Dengue infections in the region rose sharply to an all-time high of 3.1 million in 2019, with over 1,500 deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean. That information comes from PAHO.

Cases of the disease should begin to decrease in the second half of 2020, the organization said.

Dengue epidemics usually happen every three to five years and with four strains of dengue in existence, people may catch it more than once. Second cases are more likely to be severe.

"COVID is the star right now, so all of the attention is being put on COVID," said Jaime Gomez. "But there are still problems with dengue." He is a doctor and works at a hospital in Floridablanca, in Colombia's Santander province.

Dengue is not usually deadly and can be treated with painkillers¹³. But some sufferers deal with long-term problems like tiredness, weight loss, and depression. And these things affect their ability to work. Severe dengue is treated with intravenous fluids and those who do not get tested are at risk of dangerous health problems.

Such treatments cannot be given if patients stay home, worried about getting the coronavirus, or if crowded hospitals cannot take dengue patients.

There are not many cases of COVID-19 in the part of Colombia where Gomez works. He told Reuters news agency he had seen hospitalizations decrease by half, as people were fearful of going outdoors.

‘System has collapsed¹⁴'

Sonia Fernandez is a lawyer from Paraguay. She avoided seeking medical care when she and her two daughters, ages 11 and 8, got sick with dengue at the beginning of April. Fernandez wanted to avoid individuals with COVID-19, she said.

All three have since recovered.

Dengue cases in Paraguay have sharply risen this year. In the first 18 weeks of 2020, the country reported more than 40,000 confirmed cases and more than 60 deaths. That is compared to under 400 confirmed cases and six deaths during the same period in 2019.

In Ecuador, the coronavirus outbreak has hit hard. Hospitals in Guayaquil, the largest city, are full. The number of dengue cases has dropped nationwide, but this could cover up other issues.

Ecuador's health ministry¹⁵ notes that dengue cases were highest at close to 900 in the week ending March 14. That is two weeks after the country confirmed its first case of COVID-19. For the week of April 4, they fell to around 250.

Esteban Ortiz is an international health researcher at the University of the Americas in Quito.

He says dengue cases are being under-reported.

"Cases haven't decreased, the diagnosis¹⁶ of cases has decreased, which confirms the system has totally collapsed," he said.

Ecuador's health ministry said that the country was no more exposed to the double effects of COVID-19 and dengue than any other Latin American country. It added it has the supplies it needs to treat cases of dengue.

Dengue has also increased sharply in Central America. In Costa Rica, cases have risen nearly 200 percent through May 1, compared with a year ago, to over 2,000.

Rodrigo Marin is director of Costa Rica's health surveillance agency. He told Reuters that while his country is having a difficult time dealing¹⁷ with COVID-19, other diseases continue to spread.

In Panama, dengue has caused at least two deaths this year. Speaking with Reuters, Panama City health official Yamileth Lopez said that "Dengue kills too."

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

region - n. a part of a country or world that is different or separate from other parts in some way

mosquito - n. a small flying insect that bites the skin of people and animals and sucks their blood

resource - n. a supply of something that someone has and can use when it is needed

banish⁷ - v. to get rid of something

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

strain - n. a group of closely related plants, animals or germs

intravenous - adj. entering the body through a vein¹⁸

diagnosis - n. the act of identifying a disease, illness, or problem by examining someone or something

expose - v. to reveal something hidden

surveillance - n. the act of carefully watching something especially in order to prevent or detect something

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

8 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

10 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

11 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。

12 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。

13 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。