Ivory Coast Worries about Possible Polio Epidemic

Ivory Coast Worries about Possible Polio Epidemic¹

Nico Colombant

Health workers and religious leaders in Ivory Coast are increasingly worried their country could become infected with polio from northern Nigeria where Islamic clerics halted a new vaccination² drive this week.

A girl of 18 months old was recently diagnosed with polio in the region of Duekoue near the frontlines of the Ivorian civil war, which has divided the country's north from the south. This is the first case of polio in Ivory Coast since July 2000.

The United Nations said Wednesday the new case could be linked to a virus from northern Nigeria, which has already spread to Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, and Togo.

In Chad, the worst-hit of these countries, more than 20 new cases of polio related to the Nigerian virus have recently been detected.

The spread of polio follows the suspension of immunization campaigns in northern Nigeria last year, after Islamic clerics alleged³ the vaccine⁴ was tainted⁶ with HIV/AIDS, despite assurances by scientists that these claims were completely baseless.

This week, when an immunization campaign resumed throughout West and Central Africa, four northern Nigerian states refused to take part. Authorities there said they are awaiting the findings of a panel made up of Nigerian scientists, government officials, and Islamic leaders. The team went on a three-country fact-finding mission earlier this month to test the vaccine's safety.

The panel was due to release its findings before the start of the new immunization campaign, but has delayed the report until next month.

The head of emergency programs in rebel-held Ivory Coast for the United Nations Children's Fund, Dr. Alphonse Toko, says it is crucial all of Nigeria take part

He says if Islamic leaders in northern Nigeria can not be convinced to allow the vaccination drives to go ahead, it will create an important reservoir of the virus and with people moving around in the region, polio cases will probably go up among children, rather than being eradicated⁸.

For the vaccination campaign in Ivory Coast, Dr. Toko enlisted¹⁰ the help of Islamic religious leaders, including the spokesman of northern Ivorian imams, Tiemoko Diarra, whose son has polio.

He says Islam has never prevented any type of medical care, unless it contains alcohol or makes a woman sterile¹¹. He says vaccinating¹² a child so that he or she can stay in good health has nothing to do with religion.

U.N. and Nigerian officials have been trying to counter the Muslims' opposition¹³ with repeated safety tests of the serum¹⁴ and public announcements.

 

注释：

Ivory Coast [5aivEri5kEust] 象牙海岸，西非一国家，位于几内亚海湾沿岸。

polio [5pEJlIEJ] n. 脊髓灰质炎，小儿麻痹症

Nigeria [nai5dViEriE] n. 尼日利亚，几内亚湾畔的一个西非国家。

vaccination [7vAksi5neiFEn] n. <医>接种疫苗，种痘

diagnose [5daiE^nEuz] v. 诊断

Ivorian [5aIvErIEn] adj. 象牙海岸的

Benin [be5nin] 贝宁，尼日利亚南部一城市。

Burkina Faso  布基纳法索，上沃尔特西非的一个内陆国。

Cameroon [5kAmEru:n] n. 喀麦隆，靠近比夫拉湾的一个中西非国家。

Central African Republic  中非共和国，中非帝国非洲中部一国家。

Chad [tFAd] 乍得湖，非洲中北部。

Ghana [5^B:nE] n. 加纳，位于几内亚湾的一个西部非洲国家。

Togo [5tEu^Eu] n. 多哥，西非一国家，临几内亚湾。

detect [di5tekt] vt. 察觉，发觉

suspension [sEs5penFEn] n. 暂停，中止

immunization [7imju:nai5zeiFEn] n. 免疫

vaccine [5vAksi:n] n. 疫苗

taint⁵ [teint] v. 感染

baseless [5beislis] adj. 无根据的

resume [ri5zju:m] vt. 恢复，重新开始

await [E5weit] vt. 等候

panel [5pAnl] n. 公开讨论小组，座谈小组

release [ri5li:s] vt. 发表

United Nations Children's Fund  联合国儿童基金会

crucial [5kru:FiEl] adj. 至关紧要的

reservoir [5rezEvwB:] n. 贮藏，蓄积

eradicate⁷ [i5rAdikeit] v. 根除

enlist⁹ [in5list] v.谋取（支持、赞助等）

imam [I5mB:m] n. 伊玛姆（伊斯兰教领袖的称号）

sterile [5sterail] adj. 不育的

serum [5siErEm] n.（免疫）血清

1 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。

2 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。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 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。

5 taint   

n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染

参考例句：

• Everything possible should be done to free them from the economic taint.应尽可能把他们从经济的腐蚀中解脱出来。
• Moral taint has spread among young people.道德的败坏在年轻人之间蔓延。

6 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

8 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

9 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

10 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

12 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 serum   

n.浆液，血清，乳浆

参考例句：

• The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
• Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质，共11种，称为补体。