VOA新闻杂志2022--世卫:上周全球猴痘病例下降21%

WHO: Monkeypox Cases Drop 21 Percent Worldwide

The number of monkeypox cases reported worldwide dropped by 21 percent in the last week. The drop marks a possible sign that the outbreak in Europe may be starting to decline, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.

The United Nations health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases. It said two countries - Iran and Indonesia - reported their first cases. More than 45,000 cases have been reported in 98 countries since late April.

Cases in the Americas made up 60 percent of infections in the past month, the WHO said. Cases in Europe, it said, made up about 38 percent. It said infections in the Americas showed "a continuing steep rise."

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday the continent had 219 new cases reported in the past week. That is a jump of 54 percent. Most were in Nigeria and Congo, the agency said.

In early July, the WHO's Europe director said countries in the region were responsible for 90 percent of all laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox.

British health officials said last week that there were "early signs" the country's monkeypox outbreak was slowing.

Britain's Health Security Agency said last month there was no evidence the disease was spreading beyond men who were gay, bisexual or had sex with other men.

Monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were identified in May. Since then, the WHO and other health agencies have noted¹ that its spread was almost all in men who have sex with men.

Monkeypox has existed in parts of Africa for many years. Experts suspect the outbreaks in Europe and North America began after the disease started spreading through sex at two parties in Spain and Belgium.

WHO's latest report said 98 percent of cases are in men. The large majority of those cases are in men who have sex with men.

The WHO has recommended that men at high risk of the disease temporarily consider reducing their number of sex partners.

Monkeypox usually requires skin-to-skin or skin-to-mouth contact with infected areas on a patient's skin, called lesions, to spread. People can also become infected through contact with the clothing or bedsheets of someone who has monkeypox lesions.

Monkeypox vaccines³ worldwide are limited. Officials in the U.S., Europe and Britain have all begun decreasing the strength of the vaccine² dose in order to stretch supplies.

The WHO has advised countries that have vaccines to offer the shots to people at high-risk for the disease first, including gay and bisexual men with several sex partners. They also advise vaccinating⁴ health workers and laboratory workers and others involved in controlling the outbreak.

While Africa has reported the most suspected deaths from monkeypox, the continent has no vaccine supplies available to the public. The only vaccines there are being used in a research study in Congo.

Words in This Story

decline –v. to become less, fewer or lower

steep –adj. rising or falling sharply

gay –adj. sexually attracted to the same sex

dose –n. the necessary amount of a medicine or vitamin taken at one time

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 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。

3 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。

4 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。