2007年VOA标准英语-What Is Behind Outbreaks of Norovirus?

By Melinda Smith
Washington, D.C.
19 February 2007
 
watch Norovirus report

It can be called stomach flu, food poisoning or acute gastroenteritis.  Medical experts call it the Norovirus, and this family of viruses causes diarrhea, nausea¹, vomiting² and other flu-like symptoms.  As VOA's Melinda Smith explains, it can strike victims anywhere from a fancy cruise ship to a squalid refugee camp.

 
A microscopic³ view of Norovirus
The Norovirus does not discriminate⁴.  It can afflict⁵ those who are destitute⁶ and those who are rich.  Hundreds of passengers on the Queen Elizabeth Two luxury liner recently learned that lesson the hard way.  Arthur Woodstone was one of the tourists who experienced the agony of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping⁷ and fever: "I was one of the martyrs⁸.  Twenty four hours in my cabin in luxury."

It can occur in any location where people are grouped together, eating the same food, touching⁹ the same things and coming in contact with someone already infected. 

Norovirus is one of the most common causes of infection and diarrhea.  It has been with humans for ages.  So why is there so much attention now? 

Marc-Alain Widdowson of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has one theory. "What we think may be happening is that there is a new strain of Norovirus to which people have not been exposed before."

 
Dr. William Schaffner
Vanderbilt University's chief of preventive medicine, Dr. William Schaffner, thinks a rapid diagnosis¹⁰ of more than one type of the Norovirus can only be done in a sophisticated laboratory. "There is a particular Norovirus strain that is more apt to make you sick.  It's more virulent¹¹, we call it, and that virus is circulating rather abundantly and so that also probably contributes to why we're seeing more Norovirus disease than we have in the past."

Norovirus has afflicted¹² people in at least 17 U.S. states in recent months. Patients in hospitals and nursing homes are especially vulnerable because of their weakened immune systems.

Dr. Schaffner says all it takes is one health care worker or visitor from the outside to introduce the virus. "Be alert to anyone in the facility who develops a diarrheal illness, and then to confine them, to try to isolate¹³ them and care for them in a very hygienic way so they don't have the opportunity to spread it to others."

 
Frequent washing of hands is considered an effective way of limiting the spread of the virus
When masses of people were evacuated¹⁴ from New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, health officials braced¹⁵ for a possible spread of the Norovirus.  Alcohol-based hand sanitizers were given to refugees to prevent the virus from spreading.  Health officials caution mothers to be especially careful when changing diapers of young children.

There is no available vaccine¹⁶ to stop the Norovirus.  Dr. Schaffner says the best prevention is simple handwashing with warm water and soap. "Now I'm mindful of the fact that around the world people have varying access to clean water and indeed to such simple implements¹⁷ as soap.  But when that's available, that's a very, very effective way of interrupting transmission because our hands are what bring the virus to our mouths very, very often."

So what does he suggest, if there is no WARM water? "It's the rubbing and spending some time, so the more you do that, the less likely you are to acquire Norovirus, influenza¹⁸ and lots of other infectious diseases."

It can take up to a week to recover from a Norovirus.  Health experts recommend the patient start out with small amounts of fluids mixed with a little bit of sugar and salt to restore the equilibrium¹⁹.  Gradually increase those fluids until the patient feels better.  Then spread the message of good hygiene²⁰ to others.

1 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

2 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

3 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

4 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

5 afflict   

vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨

参考例句：

• I wish you wouldn't afflict me with your constant complains.我希望你不要总是抱怨而使我苦恼。
• There are many illnesses,which afflict old people.有许多疾病困扰着老年人。

6 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

7 cramping   

图像压缩

参考例句：

• The bleeding may keep my left hand from cramping. 淌血会叫我的左手不抽筋。
• This loss of sodium can cause dehydration and cramping. 钠流失会造成脱水和抽筋。

8 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

10 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。

11 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。

12 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

13 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

15 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 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。

19 equilibrium   

n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静

参考例句：

• Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
• This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。

20 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。