AGRICULTURE REPORT - New Cases of Avian Influenza in Asia

AGRICULTURE REPORT - New Cases of Avian Influenza¹ in Asia
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, July 13, 2004

This is Bob Doughty² with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The chicken industry in East Asia has grown quickly in recent years. But now the industry must deal with findings³ that the avian influenza virus is more widespread than was thought.

In the last two weeks, China, Thailand and Vietnam all reported new cases of bird flu. China and Thailand are two of the largest poultry⁴ producers in the world.

Scientists were not immediately sure if this was a new virus or a continuation of the major outbreaks earlier this year. But a top official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said the new cases are not a surprise.

Joseph Domenech says governments need to recognize that the virus will continue to spread and different ones could also appear. He says doing away with the avian flu virus "should be considered, at best, as a long-term task."

By the end of last week workers had killed tens of thousands of chickens and ducks to stop the spread of the virus. But a World Health Organization official, Doctor Shigeru Omi, said there was still a great risk to public health.

Earlier this year, the avian flu virus killed at least twenty-three people in Southeast Asia. The W.H.O. says thirty-four people in all became infected. At that time, workers killed about one-hundred million chickens and other birds in an effort to stop the infection. Scientists fear that the virus could become able to spread from person to person.

Medical experts in China recently found that the h-five-n-one virus is becoming more dangerous to mammals. They studied viruses collected over four years. They observed the effects on chickens, mice and ducks.

The researchers found that the more recent forms of the virus were more deadly to mice than earlier versions⁶. They say immediate⁵ action is needed to prevent the spread of avian flu viruses from ducks into chickens or mammals. The virus infects ducks but does not make them sick. The study appears this week in the Proceedings⁷ of the National Academy⁸ of Sciences.

And a study last week in the magazine Nature says wild birds may have added to the increasing spread of the virus in Asia. The researchers say their results suggest that h-five-n-one has become firmly rooted in the area. They say these developments may be a threat to people and animals worldwide.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Caty Weaver⁹ and Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

4 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

8 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

9 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。