VOA标准英语2015--世界卫生组织已批准婴儿脑膜炎疫苗

 

WHO Approves Infant Meningitis Vaccine¹ 世界卫生组织已批准婴儿脑膜炎疫苗

The World Health Organization has approved the use of a meningitis vaccine for infants in sub-Saharan Africa. The vaccine has been given to older children and young adults for the past four years.

The WHO said the MenAfriVac vaccine meets international standards for quality, safety and efficacy and now can be used for children under one year of age.

It immunizes against meningitis A – a bacterial² disease that causes inflammation of membranes³ surrounding the brain and spinal⁴ cord. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it can kill within hours – and poses a threat to 450-million people in the so-called “meningitis belt.” The belt consists of 26 countries stretching from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia in the East.

The CDC said one in 10 people will die from meningitis A even when antibiotics⁵ are given. And one out of four survivors⁶ may be left with paralysis⁷, blindness, hearing loss and seizures⁸.

Dr. Marie-Pierre Préziosi is director of the Meningitis Vaccine Project – a partnership⁹ between the World Health Organization and PATH, a non-profit health organization. She said that meningitis has been a threat in parts of Africa for about 100 years.

“Based on the call from countries, the global health community came about with this project. And the project and its partners developed a vaccine – licensed¹⁰ it – and introduced it for mass vaccination¹¹ campaigns. So this has been a tremendous success. And populations from one to 29 years of age are now protected,” she said

But she said it’s now important to extend that protection to infants.

“If we just stop there and don’t provide countries with tour de force sustainability in 10 [or] 15 years from now this massive epidemic¹² will return because there will be [an] accumulation of susceptible¹³ persons in the population. Therefore, there was the need to adapt a vaccine for use in routine immunization in the youngest, in the infants. And this is the purpose of the current licensure and recommendation.”

Dr. Préziosi said the MenAfriVac vaccine offers protection against meningitis A for up to five years. But follow-up studies will be done to monitor the length of its effectiveness. Asked if there are any safety concerns, she said, “No, no safety concern. These conjugate¹⁴ vaccines¹⁵ are extremely safe.”

Meningitis A is spread from person to person.

“The only reservoir is human beings," she said.

The bacteria can be spread in respiratory droplets¹⁶ when a person sneezes, coughs, talks or even laughs.

The head of the Meningitis Vaccine Project said since the vaccine was introduced four years ago about 217-million people have been immunized. Another 100-million are expected to be vaccinated¹⁷ in the next few years. The meningitis vaccine is expected to become part of routine immunizations and given to 30-million infants a year in the meningitis belt.

The MenAfriVac vaccine costs less than a dollar per dose. The GAVI Alliance is picking half the cost in the first year of mass immunizations with individual countries paying the rest. GAVI is a public/private partnership that works to increase access to vaccines in poor countries. After the initial mass immunization, the cost gradually shifts to the countries.

1 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。

2 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

3 membranes   

n.（动物或植物体内的）薄膜( membrane的名词复数 )；隔膜；（可起防水、防风等作用的）膜状物

参考例句：

• The waste material is placed in cells with permeable membranes. 废液置于有渗透膜的槽中。 来自辞典例句
• The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a system of intracellular membranes. 肌浆网属于细胞内膜系统。 来自辞典例句

4 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

5 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

8 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

11 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

12 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。

13 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

14 conjugate   

vt.使成对，使结合；adj.共轭的，成对的

参考例句：

• A partition that is its own conjugate is ealled self-conjugate.一个分析如与其自身共轭称为自共轭。
• It is important to learn to conjugate irregular verbs.学会不规则动词的变化是相当重要的。

15 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。

16 droplets   

n.小滴( droplet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Droplets of sweat were welling up on his forehead. 他额头上冒出了滴滴汗珠。 来自辞典例句
• In constrast, exhaled smoke contains relatively large water droplets and appears white. 相反，从人嘴里呼出的烟则包含相当大的水滴，所以呈白色。 来自辞典例句

17 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？