2007年VOA标准英语-Indonesia Stops Sharing Bird Flu Samples

By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
07 February 2007

The Indonesian government has announced it is withholding² samples of a deadly bird flu virus in light of its new partnership³ to develop a vaccine⁴ with a U.S. drug company. As Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta, the move may hamper⁵ efforts by other countries to develop vaccines⁶ to prevent a possible worldwide bird flu pandemic.

Chickens on a farm in central Java, Indonesia (file photo)

Indonesia this week signed a memorandum⁷ of understanding with U.S.-based drug maker⁸ Baxter International to develop a human vaccine against avian influenza⁹.

But since late last year, when the deal with Baxter began to take shape, the country has been refusing to share samples of the local strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus with foreign laboratories, or with the World Health Organization.

Indonesia did not say why it is withholding samples of the virus. But it, Thailand, and other developing countries have expressed concern that their H5N1 samples will be sent to Western nations, and used there to develop vaccines that citizens of the originating country won't be able to afford.

WHO spokesman Dick Thompson says contributing samples to the organization's database is entirely¹⁰ voluntary, and it is not yet clear how Indonesia's memorandum of understanding, or MOU, will affect the worldwide search for a vaccine against H5N1.

"We fully¹¹ support the right of Indonesia or any other country to pursue an agreement with a vaccine company. But that is not the issue," he said. "Until the details and the effect of the MOU are better understood it's not going to be possible for us to determine how this agreement will affect the functioning of the global influenza surveillance program."

Officials of the drug company, Baxter, have indicated the agreement with Indonesia does not require the country to withhold¹ samples of the virus. Indonesia says it might make samples available in the future.

The H5N1 virus has been found in poultry¹² all over the world, and has killed 166 people over the past four years. Outbreaks in Indonesia have accounted for about a third of the human deaths.

The H5N1 virus still affects primarily birds, but epidemiologists fear the disease might mutate into a form that can be passed easily from human to human, which could trigger a pandemic that could threaten millions of people.

Thompson says samples sent from different countries help scientists track the evolution of the virus, and prepare for a possible pandemic.

"This a virus that mutates constantly, and it's important for us to get access to these viruses right away so we can understand how it's evolving. Secondly¹³, by having access to the virus, we are able to validate¹⁴ the diagnostic laboratory capabilities¹⁵ of the countries involved, so we are able to look and very often confirm that the results from a national laboratory are accurate," said Thompson.

Bird flu has re-emerged in several countries since the beginning of the year, including Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. If a pandemic strain should develop, experts say it could take up to six months for researchers to find a vaccine that would fully protect against the disease.

1 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

2 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 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。

5 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

6 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。

7 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

9 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。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 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。

12 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

13 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

14 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

15 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓