VOA慢速英语2016 埃博拉危机对寨卡病毒应对的启发（在线收听）

Ebola Crisis Might Hold Clues for Fighting Zika Virus 埃博拉危机对寨卡病毒应对的启发

The Zika virus has become a major health concern for people around the world.

寨卡病毒已经成为世界各地人们最担心的健康问题。

They are worried that it could become a crisis like the Ebola epidemic.

人们担心寨卡病毒会成为像埃博拉病毒这样的危机。

The Ebola virus disease killed over 11,000 people during a two-year outbreak that started in West Africa in 2014.

2014年寨卡病毒开始在西非蔓延，这场持续两年的疫情导致1.1万多人死亡。

Health organizations around the world say the threat from Ebola has ended.

世界各地的卫生组织称埃博拉构成的威胁已经结束。

In West African nations, people now know how the virus spreads. They know its symptoms and can get help if a relative or friend shows signs of Ebola.

在西非各国，人们现在知道这种病毒是如何传播的，他们知道这种疾病的症状，一旦有亲朋好友出现埃博拉的症状，就能获得帮助。

Health organizations in West Africa believe they will be able to control and contain any future cases.

西非卫生组织认为自己能够控制和遏制未来发生的任何病例。

Critics of the international effort to stop the Ebola outbreak say the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies did not react fast enough.

有批评者指出国际上遏制埃博拉疫情的工作不力，称世卫组织和其他机构反应不够迅速。

That leads people to wonder how WHO and local health organizations will deal with the Zika virus. There is not yet a vaccine for Zika.

这让人们怀疑世卫组织和地方卫生组织将如何对付寨卡病毒，目前尚没有对付寨卡病毒的疫苗。

Mosquitos spread the virus to human beings.

蚊虫将寨卡病毒传播给人类。

So far, Brazil is the country most affected by the virus.

到目前为止，巴西是受寨卡病毒影响最严重的国家。

Health organizations think Zika might be directly linked to microcephaly, a condition linked to incomplete brain development. There could be 4,000 cases of Zika-related microcephaly in Brazil. Babies with the birth defect have an unusually small head. Children with severe microcephaly often do not live long.

卫生组织认为寨卡病毒可能会直接导致小头症，这种疾病与大脑发育不良有关，巴西可能有4000个寨卡病毒导致的小头症病例，有这种出生缺陷的婴儿头部非常小，小头症严重的儿童通常会寿命不长。

There is already one difference between Zika and Ebola. The WHO already declared Zika virus a global health emergency.

寨卡病毒和埃博拉已经有一个区别，那就是，世卫组织已经宣布寨卡病毒为全球公共卫生紧急事件。

Governments around the world are taking steps to guard against the disease.

各国政府正采取措施对付这一疫情。

In the UniTed States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says there are more than 50 cases of the disease nationwide. All are connected to people who recently traveled overseas.

美国疾控中心称全世界已有50多个病例，所有患者最近都国外旅行过。

President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve $1.8 billion in government spending to fight Zika. The money would go to the CDC and other health organizations in the U.S.

巴拉克·奥巴马总统请求国会批准18亿美元政府开支用于对付寨卡病毒，这笔资金将拨给美国疾控中心等卫生组织。

Experts say the funding is a good start. But it is only the beginning. Financial resources are important for fighting viruses and diseases.

专家称这笔资金是个良好的开端，但只是开端而已，财政资源对于抗击病毒和疾病来说很重要。

Lawrence Gostin is a law professor at Georgetown University who specializes in public health. He says funding for research and disease containment is important for making sure the world is safe.

洛朗·戈斯廷是专门研究公共卫生的乔治城大学法学教授，他说用于研究和疾病遏制的资金对于确保全世界的安全来说很重要。

“Next time we might not be so fortunate as to have something we can contain,” he said.

“下次我们可能不会那么幸运地能对付情况。”

Tom Frieden is the director of the CDC. He said there still is work to be done in the way the world handles health problems.

汤姆·弗雷登是疾控中心主任，他说仍需要改善世界对付卫生问题的办法。

“We need to build the systems around the world to find things when they first emerge, to stop them rapidly, and to prevent them whenever that's possible.”

“我们需要在全世界建立能够在第一时间进行应对、快速遏制并随时预防的机制。”

One way to be prepared is to enlist drug companies to help in the fight.

其中一个准备措施是召集药品公司来加入这场战斗。

The Reuters news agency reports that major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Merck and Johnson and Johnson are evaluating their technology and existing vaccines to see if they can help fight Zika.

路透社报道称如辉瑞制药、默克公司和强生公司等著名制药公司正在评估其技术和现有疫苗，看自己是否能对付寨卡病毒。

Dr. Julie Gerberding is the president of Merck. She says the big drug companies can develop and manufacture vaccines for a large number of people in a short amount of time.

朱莉·格贝尔丁是默克公司总裁，她说大型制药公司可以在短期内为大批人开发和生产疫苗。

“We are necessary,” she says. Non-governmental organizations “cannot develop vaccines and manufacture them to the kind of scale that we need.”

“我们很重要，非政府组织无法像我们那样大规模地开发和生产疫苗。”

Words in This Story

outbreak – n. a sudden start or increase of disease

enlist – v. to get the support and help of (someone or something)

pharmaceutical – adj. of or related to medical treatments or medicines

symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

epidemic - n. an incident in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects many people

global - adj. involving the whole world

incomplete - adj. lacking some part; not complete

fortunate - adj. lucky