VOA慢速英语 Development Report - Experts Seek More Attention to

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Buruli ulcer¹ is a bacterial² disease that eats away muscle tissue. People can become disabled. They may even need to have an arm or leg removed. Buruli ulcer disease can be easily treated with antibiotics³. Yet people often do not get medical help until the damage already has been done.
　
A child in Ivory Coast recovering from a Buruli ulcer infection

Doctor Alexander Tiendrebeogo from the World Health Organization says the disease causes no pain at first. The condition usually begins as a swelling⁴ on the skin. Then large ulcers⁵ form. These breaks destroy skin and soft tissue, sometimes all the way down to the bone.

Buruli ulcer is a disease found in tropical climates. It belongs to the same family of bacteria as those that cause tuberculosis⁶ and Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy.

Cases have been reported in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the western Pacific. At least thirty nations have had cases of Buruli ulcer disease. But experts say this condition has not gotten as much attention as it should.

It was just discussed during an international health conference held in Benin. Benin, Ghana and Ivory Coast have thousands of current cases of Buruli ulcer disease. Health officials believe other countries in West Africa have unreported cases.

Scientists are not sure how Buruli ulcer disease spreads or even how it develops in nature. They suspect it may involve mosquitoes or other organisms that live in water.

A British doctor reported the first cases of what was probably Buruli ulcer in eighteen ninety-seven in Uganda. Sir Albert Cook of the Church Missionary⁷ Society described the condition in patients at his Mengo Hospital in Kampala.

In nineteen forty-eight, Peter MacCallum and other scientists in Australia reported six cases near Melbourne. They also identified the bacterium⁸ that causes Buruli ulcer. The first complete genetic⁹ map was published in two thousand seven. That genome may lead to better treatment and control of the disease.

Public health officials hope that a treatment can be developed that does not require injections. If people could take the medicine by mouth, they would not need to travel to health clinics.

In the nineteen sixties there were many cases in an area then called Buruli County in Uganda. That explains the name Buruli ulcer, the most commonly used name for the disease.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report. It was written by Jerilyn Watson.

1 ulcer   

n.溃疡，腐坏物

参考例句：

• She had an ulcer in her mouth.她口腔出现溃疡。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

2 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

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 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

5 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

6 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

7 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

8 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

9 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。