VOA慢速英语2019 卫生官员对麻疹病例上升感到担心（在线收听）

Health Officials Worry About Rise in Measles

Measles is only found in human beings. There is a highly effective and safe vaccine for the disease. So, in theory, measles could be destroyed.

麻疹只感染人类。有一种治疗该疾病的高效且安全的疫苗。因此，理论上麻疹是可以消灭的。

Yet the number of measles cases is on the rise.

但是，麻疹病例的数量却在不断增加。

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that, in the first three months of 2019, the number of cases is three times higher than it was last year.

世界卫生组织（简称WHO）的报告显示，2019年前三个月的麻疹病例比去年同期高出三倍。

Africa alone has had a 700-percent increase compared to last year.

与去年相比，仅非洲的麻疹病例就增加了700%。

The Democratic Republic of Congo reported 67,000 measles cases and 901 measles-related deaths in 2018. This year, WHO officials have noted more than 16,000 suspected measles cases in the country. That number includes 284 measles-related deaths in the first weeks of 2019.

2018年，刚果民主共和国报告了6.7万例麻疹病例和901例麻疹相关死亡病例。世卫组织官员指出，今年刚果报告的疑似麻疹病例已超过1.6万例。这包括在2019年前几周出现的284例麻疹相关死亡病例。

Between September 2018 and February 2019, Madagascar reported over 67,000 measles cases, including 828 deaths.

2018年9月至2019年2月，马达加斯加报告了超过6.7万例麻疹病例，其中828人死亡。

Dr. Anthony Fauci directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, part of the United States government’s National Institutes of Health. He says the measles situation in Madagascar is extremely serious.

安东尼·福奇是美国国家过敏和传染病研究所所长，该研究所隶属于美国政府机构美国国家卫生研究院。他表示，马达加斯加的麻疹疫情极为严重。

"Madagascar has almost 1,000 deaths and has tens of thousands of infections,” Fauci said.

福奇表示，“马达加斯加有近1000人因麻疹死亡，而感染者已达到数万人。”

The National Institutes of Health warns that a decrease in measles vaccination is causing a preventable return of this often deadly disease worldwide.

美国国家卫生研究院警告称，麻疹疫苗接种率下降导致该疾病再次成为影响全球的致命疾病，而这本来是可以避免的情况。

Fauci told VOA that "one in 10 children who get infected with measles will get an ear infection that could cause deafness. One in 20 would get pneumonia. One in a thousand would get brain swelling, what we call encephalitis, and one to three per thousand would die. To say that measles is a trivial disease is completely incorrect.”

福奇对VOA表示，“感染麻疹的儿童中有十分之一会出现可能导致耳聋的耳部感染。五分之一会得肺炎。千分之一会出现脑水肿，我们通常称之为脑炎，三千分之一会死亡。麻疹只是小病这种说法完全不正确。”

Walter Orenstein is with the Emory University Vaccine Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He has spent his life working to end measles. Orenstein says possible effects of the disease are worse in poor countries.

沃尔特·奥伦斯坦来自乔治亚州亚特兰大市的埃默里大学疫苗中心。他一生致力于消灭麻疹。奥伦斯坦表示，麻疹可能造成的影响在贫穷国家尤为严重。

"You start off with children who are already at greater risk. They may be malnourished. They may have compromised immune systems. They may be underweight and may have no access to health care so measles is a big killer,” he said.

他说，“一开始儿童就已经面临着更大风险。他们可能会营养不良。他们的免疫系统可能会受损。他们可能会体重不足，而且可能无法接受医疗服务，因此麻疹相当致命。”

You have a 90 percent chance of getting measles if you have not been vaccinated and you come in contact with someone who has it. Dr. Rebecca Martin is the Director of the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. She is working to remove measles from Africa completely.

如果没有接种疫苗或与感染者进行过接触，那感染麻疹的几率高达90%。丽贝卡·马丁博士是美国疾病控制与预防中心全球卫生中心的主任。她致力于让非洲彻底消除麻疹。

"It is very infectious. It will find everybody who is not protected against measles,” Martin said.

马丁表示，“麻疹的传染性非常高。任何没有接种过麻疹疫苗的人都可能会被感染。”

Health experts advise patients to get two treatments of the measles vaccine. U.S. health officials say educating parents about both the disease and the vaccine is an important step in stopping the spread.

卫生专家建议患者接种两种麻疹疫苗。美国卫生官员表示，教授家长有关麻疹疾病和疫苗的知识是阻止麻疹传播的重要举措。

Equally important is making vaccination a top goal of health systems worldwide.

同样重要的是要让疫苗接种成为全球卫生系统的首要目标。

Words in this Story

trivial - adj. not important

malnourished - adj. not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food

immune system - n. the system that protects your body from diseases and infections

access - n. a way of being able to use or get something

pneumonia - n. a serious disease that affects the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe

swell - v. to become larger than normal