时代周刊:刚果埃博拉疫情升级

(Now a news brief from) the Democratic Republic of Congo--an Ebola outbreak escalates¹

下面是来自刚果民主共和国的一则简讯 埃博拉疫情升级

ALTHOUGH THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) HAS said

世界卫生组织之前表示，

the ongoing² Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo

刚果民主共和国爆发的埃博拉疫情

does not yet constitute a public-health emergency of international concern,

尚未发展成值得国际社会关注的突发性公共卫生事件，

on May 17 the group announced that the situation had reached a new and worrisome stage.

但5月17日，该组织宣布，局势已经进入令人不安的新阶段。

Whereas the outbreak had previously³ been confined to small villages,

尽管之前疫情仅局限于一些小村庄，

officials confirmed a case in Mbandaka, a city of 1.2 million people.

但官员们已经证实，有着120万人口的城市姆班达卡也出现了一例病案。

Since then, three more cases have been confirmed in the city.

从那以后，该市又确诊了三起病例。

Mbandaka acts as a hub for regional traffic,

姆班达卡是当地的交通枢纽，

thus presenting a new possibility that the virus could be easily transported.

这就为病毒的快速传播创造了新的可能。

Already, there have been 26 deaths reported during this latest outbreak of Ebola,

最近这次埃博拉病毒的爆发已经造成了26人死亡，

which came just 10 months after Congo’s previous bout⁴ with the virus was officially declared finished.

而刚果正式宣布上一轮爆发结束才刚刚过去10个月时间。

The international response to Congo’s outbreakhas been significant

刚果疫情的爆发引发了国际社会的强烈反应，

and is expected to grow now that the virus has spread to Mbandaka.

由于病毒已经传播到姆班达卡，反应预计还会进一步恶化。

The world already knows what can happen when Ebola arrives in a city.

国际社会已经知道埃博拉病毒到达一个城市之后会怎样。

When the virus spread through West Africa starting in 2014,

2014年，这一病毒开始在西非传播时，

it reached the capitals of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

它传播到了几内亚、利比里亚和塞拉利昂多个国家的首都。

That epidemic⁵ left more than 11,000 people dead,

那次爆发造成了超1.1万人死亡，

and this current outbreak is the worst instance since it ended in 2016.

而这次疫情是自2016年那次疫情结束以来最严重的一次。

Still, Robert Stefen, chairman of the WHO’s emergency committee,

尽管如此，世界卫生组织紧急委员会主席罗伯特·斯特芬，

said the “situation can be brought under control”—

还是表示，“局势还是可以控制下来的”——

if, that is, the international community maintains a “vigorous response.”

如果国际社会保持“积极回应”的话。

1 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

5 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。