2006年VOA标准英语-West African Countries Brace Against Bird

By Nico Colombant
Abidjan
09 February 2006

As Nigeria and international health officials try to contain the bird flu epidemic¹ within Nigerian borders, nearby West African countries are also taking measures to prevent the virus's spread. 

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Chickens for sale in a Lagos, Nigeria market  
  

The two governments which reacted the fastest were those of Mauritania and Benin.  Officials there immediately banned the import of all poultry²-related products coming from Nigeria.

In Mauritania, journalist Salem Bokary says the news about Nigeria's bird flu is spreading fast and causing panic.

He says Mauritanians eat a lot of chicken from Nigeria, and that it's a main source of protein for many.

But he says Mauritania has now added Nigeria to a list of 17 countries from which it has already banned bird-related products due to the worldwide epidemic, including Turkey and China.

Benin's government also slapped an import ban and put out messages on local radio stations, urging residents to stop eating all chicken-related products, including eggs.

But social commentator³ Gerard Guedegbe says despite the measures, Benin, which borders Nigeria, is vulnerable to the virus's spread.

"Many of the goods that are consumed in Benin come through smuggling⁴ and also via corruption⁵ at the different borders," he said. "Of course, the government of Benin says that the goods that are based on poultry are now prohibited from importation from Nigeria, but the problem is that the borders are not so secure."

In Ghana, where the government did not react immediately, the news of Nigeria's bird flu is having less of an impact, according to Accra resident, Efam Awo Dovi. 

"Unless, you've been following the international outbreak you probably don't know anything much about it. In the national dailies, this morning, the story did not even make the front page," she said. "It was actually on the page where they have the inside Africa stories so it's really difficult to tell what the ordinary person is saying or thinking in Ghana right now."

But Ghana's association of poultry farmers expressed concern, saying if the virus spreads from Nigeria, it would not have the capacity to deal with the problem.  Officials from the association said they were awaiting directives from the ministry⁶ of agriculture.

In Ivory Coast, which has a strong national poultry industry, the government has already banned worldwide poultry imports.

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 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?

3 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

4 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。