VOA慢速英语20060301a

HEALTH REPORT - W.H.O. Urges Action to Stop Counterfeit¹ MedicinesBy Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Wednesday, March 01, 2006

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Health Report.

The World Health Organization says more effort is needed to stop the trade in counterfeit medicines. The United Nations health agency says countries must work together to fight the growing threat from drugs that are not what they seem.


A warning about street medicines

W.H.O. officials discussed the problem during a recent high-level meeting in Rome. Delegates² at the conference included representatives of government agencies, consumer groups and the drug industry.

Counterfeit medicines trick people into believing they are taking something that will make them well. Instead, it might make them sicker or even kill them.

The World Health Organization says counterfeit drugs are part of a wider problem of low-quality medicines. But it says the difference is that they are purposely misidentified. Some contain no active substances. Some contain dangerous substances. Counterfeit drugs can also add to the problem of drug resistance.

The World Health Organization says counterfeit medicines are present in all countries. They are thought to represent ten percent of drug sales worldwide.

A group in the United States estimates that profits from counterfeit drug sales will reach seventy-five thousand million dollars by two thousand ten. The Center for Medicines in the Public Interest estimated the profits last year at almost forty thousand million dollars.

Criminals often target high-demand drug such as antibiotics³, malaria⁴ drugs and painkillers⁵. Also, with recent fears about bird flu, there have been reports of counterfeiting⁶ of the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Experts say the counterfeit drug problem is worst in developing countries.

W.H.O. officials say identifying counterfeit medicines is getting more difficult. Criminals are improving their methods. Representatives at the meeting in Rome agreed to create an international expert group. Among its duties, the new group will try to strengthen national laws and establish better systems to identify counterfeit drugs.

Counterfeit medicines are often sold on the Internet. But the Internet can also be used to fight the problem. Last year, the W.H.O. set up a Web-based system to gather reports on what it calls drug cheats in the western Pacific area. It says this system should be expanded to all areas.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. Read and hear our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

2 delegates   

代表，代表团成员( delegate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conference was attended by delegates from 56 countries. 此次会议有来自56个国家的代表出席。
• Delegates expressed strong opposition to the plans. 代表强烈反对这些计划。

3 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

6 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网