2006年VOA标准英语-Researchers in Niger Prepare for Battle Against

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
27 October 2006

Africa's Sahel region, stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia, along the southern edge of the Sahara, has been called the "meningitis belt."  More than half the world's cases of the disease occur there. Researchers in Niger are trying out a combination of high-tech¹ and low-tech approaches to fight the disease.

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vaccinated2 against meningitis in Niger " src="/upimg/allimg/070505/1446270.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> A woman is vaccinated against meningitis in Niger

As the dry season begins in the Sahel, the risk of meningitis outbreaks returns.

The disease lives harmlessly in many people, in their throat or nose. But once it enters the blood stream, symptoms appear, and 70 percent of those who do not receive treatment will die.

Suzanne Chanteau, director of the Meningitis research program at the Niger-based Center for Health and Medical Research, known as CERMES, says residents in the Sahel are particularly at risk for the disease, which causes swelling³ of a lining⁴ of the brain.

"There is a hypothesis that the low humidity in this region and also maybe the dust winds are favorable conditions for the development of infection of the throat by viralogical organism or bacteriological organism responsible for meningitis," she noted⁵.

Scientists hypothesize that these dry and dusty conditions irritate the fragile skin that lines the nose and throat, giving the bacteria an opening directly into the blood stream.

When patients are diagnosed and treated promptly⁶, 90 percent recover fully⁷.  But there are several different strains of meningitis, and doctors need to know which one has infected their patients.

An old test required highly-trained technicians to analyze⁸ a bacteria culture in pristine⁹ lab conditions. It also required that the bacteria sample be refrigerated.

This was a significant obstacle, Chanteau says.

"All the countries in the meningitis belt lack laboratories, so they cannot cultivate the bacteria on site," she explaine.  "That is why a rapid test that can be performed by nurses is necessary."

Chanteau and her colleagues developed such a test. In the simple procedure, the health worker takes a sample of spinal¹⁰ fluid from the patient, and inserts a specially¹¹ treated dipstick, which shows results in 10 minutes.

The team at CERMES created a separate dipstick test for each of the four most prevalent forms of meningitis.

"We believe that there will be two kinds of effects," she said.  "The first one is on the individual level. The diagnosis¹² of meningococcal infection will help the health staff to select appropriate antibiotic¹³ treatment. And the second, maybe the most important impact is that, at the beginning of an epidemic¹⁴, the doctors will be able to know what is the serogroup of meningococci responsible for the outbreak and they can apply the control measure very quickly, instead of waiting for one team from the capital coming to make the diagnosis."

But to identify potential outbreaks before they occur, another member of Chanteau's team is looking to satellite imagery.

Isabelle Jeanne, a doctor and head of the Global Information Systems unit at CERMES, tracks dust storms from space and analyzes¹⁵ their atmospheric¹⁶ conditions.

"We want to have atmospheric conditions categorized and say if it is these conditions, there is favorable conditions to have meningitis or not," she explained.  "And these conditions are not favorable for meningitis."

If she is successful, she will be able to use current satellite data to see where the next dust storm will hit. With this advance warning, health workers could target anti-meningitis efforts to the areas most likely to be affected¹⁷.

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 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？

3 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。

4 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

9 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

10 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

13 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

14 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。

15 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

16 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

17 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。