退伍军人事务部研究表明来自越南的寄生虫可能会杀死老兵

Study: Parasite¹ May Be Killing² US Soldiers Who Fought in Vietnam

Fifty years after serving in the United States military, hundreds of Americans have a reason to believe they may be dying from a silent killer³.

Test results show some of the men may have been infected by a parasite while fighting in Southeast Asia.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ordered a small study of military veterans. The department wanted to investigate a possible link between a rare form of bile duct cancer and parasitic⁴ worms called liver fluke.

The small organisms can enter the body when someone eats raw or uncooked fish. Many years can pass before signs of infection appear. By then, those who have been infected are often in severe pain, and have just a few months to live.

Sung-Tae Hong, an expert on tropical medicine, carried out tests on 50 blood samples at Seoul National University in South Korea. He found that more than 20 percent showed possible infection with the parasitic worms. But he said more research must be done.

Christopher Goodman is a spokesman for the Northport VA Medical Center in New York. He said the center collected the blood samples and sent them to the South Korean laboratory. He said everyone whose blood showed signs of possibly being infected was notified.

Gerry Wiggins served in the U.S. military, and was based in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. He says some of his friends have died of bile duct disease. He was among those whose blood was found to be infected.

“I was in a state of shock,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be me.”

Wiggins, now age 69, lives in Port Jefferson Station, New York. He did not have any signs of the infection when he agreed to take part in the study. He hoped giving his blood to be studied would help save lives.

After Wiggins was told his blood was possibly infected, he immediately had more tests. Doctors discovered he had two cysts on his bile duct. These cysts can sometimes develop into cancer. They have since been removed. He says he feels healthy.

Liver fluke infect an estimated 25 million people worldwide. But they are rarely found in Americans. Many of the rivers of Vietnam were home to the parasites⁵. People who are infected by them can be cured with simple medicines if the infection is found early. But if untreated the parasites can live in the body for many years, without causing health problems. But over time, swelling⁷ and inflammation of the bile duct can lead to cancer.

Jaundice, dry itchy skin, weight loss and other signs appear only when the disease is in its final stages.

The blood study began after the Associated Press (AP) reported on the problem last year. The AP found that the VA has treated about 700 veterans with the rare cancer over the past 15 years. But fewer than half of them had asked for financial assistance which veterans can receive if they are sick or disabled because of their military service. Experts say that is because many of them did not know there was a link between their condition and their time in Vietnam.

Last year, the government published a warning on its website. It said that veterans who ate raw or uncooked freshwater fish while in Vietnam might be at risk. But it stopped short of urging veterans to get tested, saying there was currently no evidence they had higher rates of infection than the general population.

Curt⁹ Cashour is a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He says his agency is “taking this seriously. But until further research, a recommendation cannot be made either way.”

I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

parasite – n. an animal or plant that lives in or on another animal or plant and gets food or protection from it

bile duct – n. passages in the body that carry bile, or waste, from the liver and gallbladder through the pancreas to the duodenum, which is a part of the small intestine¹⁰

sample – n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from

cyst – n. a growth filled with liquid that forms in or on your body

swell⁶ – v. to become larger than normal

inflammation – v. a condition in which a part of your body becomes red, swollen¹¹, and painful

jaundiced – adj. having a disease that causes your skin to turn yellow; affected¹² with jaundice

itchy – adj. feeling or having an itch⁸

stage – n. a particular point or period in the growth or development of something

1 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

5 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

6 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

7 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。

8 itch   

n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望

参考例句：

• Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
• He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。

9 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

10 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

11 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。