VOA标准英语2014--非洲的病毒性疾病传播

 

African Viral Disease Spreads 非洲的病毒性疾病传播

 It’s not an illness you hear much about, but it can make a person feel miserable¹ for years. And it’s sometimes fatal. It’s spreading and scientists describe the mosquito-borne disease as a major public health threat around the world.

It’s called Chikungunya. The World Health Organization says the name comes from the Kimakonde language spoken along the Mozambique-Tanzania border. It means “to become contorted.” The name describes those suffering from the disease because they are often stooped over.

Dr. Scott Weaver², director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity³ at the University of Texas, said, “It’s a mosquito-borne virus. It originated in Africa and still circulates there now. Its original transmission cycle involves mosquitos in forest habitats and non-human primates⁴. That’s the main vertebrae hosts. But periodically it emerges from that cycle into an urban cycle involving people and different kinds of mosquitos.”

The most recent emergence⁵ from the African cycle, he said, occurred in 2004.

“It’s not normally life threatening. There are a few fatal cases. The case fatality⁶ rates recently have been estimated at about one in 1,000 people. But even though it’s not normally fatal, it’s a very painful and debilitating⁷ disease that can incapacitate people for weeks to months or even pain can persist for years.”

And it can be mistaken for other illnesses.

 “It starts off like many other flu-like infectious diseases with abrupt⁸ onset⁹ of fever and headache and body aches. But what distinguishes it from most others is that the pain is focused on the small joints¹⁰ like the hands, the wrists and the ankles. And that’s accompanied by swelling¹¹. And the combination of swelling and pain can leave people pretty severely¹² incapacitated,” said Weaver.

He said that  Chikungunya is currently circulating in India and many areas of Southeast Asia. But a lack of accurate diagnoses means it’s unclear just how many people there are infected. Cases were reported in northern Italy in 2007 and in southern France in 2010. Late last year, cases were reported in the Caribbean and two countries in South America.

Weaver does not think it will stop there.

“I think that we will see some cases in the southern U.S. We can predict, I think fairly well, what will happen with Chikungunya because it’s a very similar disease and transmission cycle to Dengue virus and we have a lot of experience with Dengue. Typically, with dengue, we see cases along the Mexico border and south Texas. And then we see outbreaks of focal transmission from imported, infected travelers in Florida,” he said.

There are two different strains of Chikungunya. The strain from eastern Africa in 2004 is able to easily mutate and increase its ability to infect the Asian tiger mosquito. The bloodsucker is found on every continent except Antarctica.

Another African strain that emerged in the 1950s is much less able to adapt and infect the Asian tiger mosquito. It’s the one found in the Caribbean. Its inability to adapt could limit its spread. Right now, Its primary vector is the so-called yellow fever mosquito.

Climate change and means of transport, like ships, can help spread the disease-carrying mosquitos.

There’s no treatment available, just drugs to try to ease the symptoms. However, vaccine¹³ research is underway and human clinical trials are about to begin. One of the vaccine candidates was developed at the University of Texas. An effective vaccine against Chikungunya is still years away.

1 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

4 primates   

primate的复数

参考例句：

• Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
• Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。

5 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

6 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

7 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

8 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

9 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

10 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

11 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

12 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

13 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。