VOA慢速英语2016 寨卡病毒疫苗临床试验开始（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-08-05 Experimental Zika Vaccine Clinical Testing Begins 寨卡病毒疫苗临床试验开始

The United States government has begun the first clinical testing of an experimental vaccine designed to guard against Zika virus.

美国政府首次开始对寨卡病毒疫苗进行临床试验。

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases made the announcement earlier this week.

本周早些时候，美国国立变态反应与感染性疾病研究所发表了此项声明。

The experimental vaccine has already been tested in animals.

实验疫苗已在动物身上进行检测。

Anthony Fauci, the institute’s director, said on Wednesday that investigators should know soon whether the vaccine is safe for use in human beings. He said the first human tests involve 40 human volunteers in the U.S.

周三，研究所所长安东尼·弗契声称，调查者应该不久后就可知道人体是否可以安全注射该疫苗。他说，参与首次临床试验的是40名美国志愿者。

“If we get a good immune response and there are no safety red flags by the end of December 2016, we should know if it’s okay to move on to phase II.” He said the second phase could begin early next year.

“如果该疫苗有很好的免疫应答能力，到2016年12月底时安全性得到确认，我们就应该知道实验是否能迈入第二阶段。”他说2017年年初会开始第二阶段实验。

Those trials will be larger studies, involving more volunteers. They would be performed in countries where Zika has spread. There, researchers would look not only at the safety of the experimental vaccine, but its effectiveness in fighting infection.

这些试验将是涉及到很多志愿者的大型研究活动。试验会在寨卡病毒肆虐的国家进行。在那里，研究者们不仅会观察实验疫苗的安全性，也会观察疫苗在抗击感染时的效果。

Infected mosquitoes can pass the virus to people.It can also be passed through sexual contact.

感染的蚊子会将病毒传染给人类。性接触也可以感染病毒。

Zika usually causes minor problems in healthy people.But there is a real danger if an infected insect bites a pregnant woman. The infection could spread to the fetus she is carrying.

健康人群感染寨卡病毒通常会出现一些小问题。但若感染的昆虫咬到了孕妇，那可就危险了。肚子里的宝宝也会感染这个病毒。

If infected with the virus, women can give birth to babies with a severe condition known as microcephaly. The heads and brains of those babies are unusually small.Microcephaly can cause many mental and physical problems and even death.

孕妇若感染了寨卡病毒，出生的宝宝可能会患有严重的疾病—头小畸形症。这些新生儿的颅脑会异常小。头小畸形症会导致许多精神和身体疾病，甚至致死。

At first, the vaccine’s main target will be women of the age when many women give birth. Researchers would also be looking to prevent the disease in the general adult population.

起初，疫苗的主要对象是大多处在生育期年龄的女性。普通成年人的该疾病防控问题也是研究员们的研究对象。

The vaccine was developed with a relatively new technology.It was scientifically engineered to contain a small piece of DNA from the virus. DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains the biological commands for Zika. The piece is so small that it is not infectious.But it is big enough to produce a reaction from the body’s natural defenses for fighting disease.

该疫苗是用一种相对新型的技术发展而来的。其设计合乎科学，包含寨卡病毒的一小段DNA片段。DNA的全称是脱氧核糖核酸，含有应对寨卡病毒的生物指令。DNA片段非常小，不会造成传染。但是它足够从人体对抗疾病的自然防御中产生反应。

Fauci said the DNA method makes it easy to provide the vaccine quickly.“We cannot afford to delay the development of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection,” he added.

弗契表示，DNA方法可以让疫苗的快速获得变得轻而易举。他补充道，“耽误研制安全有效抵抗寨卡病毒感染的疫苗，这责任我们可承担不起。”

Zika infections have been reported in 50 countries and territories. Most cases are in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

目前已有50个国家和地区报道有寨卡病毒感染。大多数病例均在中南美和加勒比海地区。

This week, U.S. officials announced that a number of people in the state of Florida have been infected.They said all the infections resulted from infected mosquitoes.

本周，美国官员宣称，佛罗里达州许多人感染病毒。他们称，所有的感染均是感染后的蚊虫叮咬导致。

Words in This Story

clinical – adj. relating to or based on work done with real patients

immune – adj. not capable of being affected by a disease

microcephaly – n. a physical condition associated with incomplete brain development

mosquitoes – n. small flying insects that bite the skin of people and sometimes spread serious diseases