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美国今年流感季节来势迅猛

The United States is in the grip of a widespread flu outbreak, with crises in Chicago and Boston. An estimated 36,000 people die of flu in the United States each year and it kills some 500,000 people annually¹ around the world. Doctors say it is an unusually early and busy flu season in the U.S.

美国目前发生大范围的流感爆发，芝加哥和波士顿进入危机状态。在美国，平均每年有大约3万6千人因患流感死亡，而全球范围流感导致的死亡人数每年大约有50万人。医生说，今年美国的流感季节来得不同寻常的早，病人也格外的多。

Massachusetts is one of 41 U.S. states now reporting widespread cases of influenza². Tom Menino is the mayor of Boston, the state's biggest city.

全美已有41个州报告出现大范围流感病例。麻萨诸塞州是其中之一。麻州最大城市波士顿的市长汤姆?曼宁诺宣布该市进入紧急状态。

“I’m declaring a public health emergency in the city of Boston. The latest reports show an increasingly tough flu season," he said.

他说：“我们宣布波士顿市进入公共卫生紧急状态。最近的报告显示，这个流感季节的情势越来越严峻。”

A hospital in eastern Pennsylvania set up a special tent outside the emergency room to deal with the wave of flu patients.

宾夕法尼亚州东部的一个医院不得不在急诊室外搭起一个帐篷，以应对不断涌入的病患。

Several hospitals in Chicago have had to turn patients away and send them to other hospitals in the area.

芝加哥的几所医院更是无力再接收病人，只能将他们送到当地其他的医院。

Dr. Marc Siegel, of George Washington University Hospital in Washington, says seasonal³ influenza is an international phenomenon. It usually breaks out in the coldest season of the year.

乔治?华盛顿大学医院的马克?赛吉尔医生说，季节性流感是国际性现象。它通常发生在每年最冷的时节。

"It generally moves through Eastern Europe, then to Western Europe and then kind of spreads westward⁴ to the United States. Now with international travel, we often see it spread everywhere much quicker," he said.

他说：“通常它的爆发途径是经过东欧，然后到西欧，再望西传人美国。而现在，我们看到国际旅行使它得以更快地蔓延到任何地方。”

Dr. Siegel describes the typical symptoms of flu. "So influenza generally gives you a muscle ache, headache, high fevers. It can be associated with a sore throat, runny nose, cough, but any number of other viruses can give you similar symptoms that might not be quite as severe," he said.

赛吉尔医生介绍了流感的典型症状。他说：“流感通常会导致肌肉疼痛、头痛和高烧。此外，它还可能导致咽喉疼痛、流鼻涕、咳嗽。但是有多种其他病毒也会导致类似的症状，不过不像流感那么严重。”

Doctors say if flu symptoms are severe, such as shortness of breath, patients should see a doctor. And they recommend a flu vaccination⁵ as the best protection against the illness.

医生说，如果出现严重的流感流感症状，例如呼吸困难，病人应该求医。他们建议注射流感疫苗，说那是预防流感的最佳办法。

Doctors warn that small children and the elderly are the most vulnerable to serious complications from the flu.

医生警告说，幼童和年长者患流感后最易出现严重的并发症。

A six-year-old girl from Dallas died just hours after her grandparents took her to the emergency room with flu-like symptoms and she was seen and released.

达拉斯一个六岁女童染上流感。她爷爷奶奶把她送到急诊室求医。但是离开那里后，只过了几个小时就死去了。

Veleta Johnson is her grandmother. “They looked down her throat, checked her ears, vitals were all good, said she had the flu and told me what to do to make sure she felt better," she said.

她的祖母维勒塔?约翰逊说：“他们检查了她的喉咙、耳朵，生命迹象看起来都还好。医生说她得了流感，然后告诉我说怎样做会让她好受些。”

Doctors say they do not know if this unusually early flu season has peaked yet, or if this year’s outbreak will get worse.

医生说，现在还很难说当前这个早得不同寻常的流感季节是否已经过了高峰期，或者今年的疫情是否会变得更为糟糕。