VOA慢速英语2015 几内亚开发“高效”埃博拉病毒疫苗

‘Highly Effective’ Ebola Vaccine¹ Developed in Guinea 几内亚开发“高效”埃博拉病毒疫苗

Researchers say an experimental vaccine has shown to be “highly effective” at preventing the deadly disease Ebola.

The World Health Organization said Friday that the vaccine has been 100 percent effective at tests performed in Guinea. The British medical journal Lancet has published early test results and analyses of the findings.

Norway’s foreign minister praised the effectiveness of the new vaccine, calling it “the silver bullet” against Ebola. Norway is one of the several countries involved in the testing.

Ebola spread through West Africa last year. The disease killed more than 11,000 people -- most of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Ebola is one of a number of highly dangerous viruses known as hemorrhagic fevers. They can affect many organs, damage blood vessels² and affect the body’s ability to fight infection. There are hopes the new vaccine may be a success in fighting against all such diseases.

The vaccine is known as VSV-EBOC. Beginning in March, it was tested on more than 4,000 people in Guinea. All of them had come into close contact with the Ebola virus.

WHO officials say early results were so promising³ that random⁴ tests were stopped this week so everyone at risk could receive the vaccine immediately.

Vaccine could be ‘game-changer’

The WHO’s general director, Margaret Chan, spoke⁵ to reporters in Geneva. She said that scientists, doctors and drug companies worked together in development of the vaccine.

If proven effective, she said, the vaccine “is going to be a game changer.” She said it will affect efforts to control the current Ebola outbreak and future outbreaks.

Researchers decided⁶ to change their efforts against the disease as the testing began. One reason was a sharp drop in the number of new cases in Africa over the past few months. The other was the changing nature of the Ebola epidemic⁷.

Last year, the disease spread very quickly over large parts of West Africa. But then it seemed to change, resulting in a series of sudden, small outbreaks across the area.

The ideal way for testing a new drug would be to vaccinate⁸ half of a population at risk of contracting Ebola. At the same time, other people in the virus area would receive a placebo⁹ or harmless substance.

Instead the team working on the vaccine chose to use a “ring” design. When a first Ebola case was reported in a village, researchers vaccinated¹⁰ everyone in contact with the sick person. Such “rings” of vaccination¹¹ took place either immediately after an Ebola infection was confirmed or three weeks later.

Of the 2,014 people vaccinated immediately, no one had Ebola when tested 10 days after receiving the new drug. A total of 2,380 people were vaccinated three weeks later. Only 16 of them became infected with the virus.

Test results will now go to government regulatory agencies. The agencies will decide whether to approve a license¹² for the vaccine. Such a permit would enable production of the vaccine for future Ebola epidemics¹³.

There have been a total of 27,748 cases of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The three countries have at least 11,279 Ebola deaths. However, the result of many cases is not yet known, and the real number of death will be higher.

I’m Anna Matteo.

Lisa Schlein reported on this story from Geneva. Triwik Kurniasari adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Words in This Story

analyses – n. commentaries on a report or study

journal – n. a publication

outbreak – n. the sudden increase of disease

random – adj. chosen without plan; not targeted

contract(ing) – v. becoming sick with disease

license – n. an official document that gives you permission to do something; a permit

epidemic – n. an infectious disease moving across a wide area

game changer – n. someone or something with a very powerful influence

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

8 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

9 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

10 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

11 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

12 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

13 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。