2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Say Anti-AIDS Drugs Alone Won't Pr

By Jessica Berman
Washington
15 March 2006
 
A new study says universal access to AIDS drugs in developing countries could increase HIV infection rates if they are not accompanied by prevention measures, such as patient education.

 
Pharmacist David Gitindi restocks AIDS drugs in storeroom of Princess Mariba hospital in Gaborone
  
Roughly 95 percent of people infected with HIV live in the developing world, where there is a global push by the World Health Organization to get anti-viral therapy to as many patients as possible.

The authors of a study published in the online journal Public Library of Medicine say that everyone who needs anti-AIDS drugs should get them, but they also warn that the therapy may not be as successful as its advocates hope.

The lead author of the study, Rebecca Baggaley of London's Imperial College, says drug treatment in poor countries might not have the desired effect unless there are adequate resources.   Ms. Baggaley says the absence of these resources, such as counseling patients about how to prevent spreading HIV, could limit the effectiveness of the WHO campaign.

"And the WHO is envisaging¹ very, very large-scale roll out of anti-retroviral therapy where this kind of infrastructure² will not be available, and, therefore, the very long extension of life expectancy³ [that has occurred] in industrialized countries might not be the same [in developing countries]," she said.

To try to predict various outcomes of anti-viral therapy in resource-poor countries, Baggaley and colleagues at Imperial College developed a model of HIV conditions in Malawi in sub-Saharan Africa.

She says even with AIDS drugs, the model predicts HIV-positive individuals in developing countries are unlikely to do well, because they tend to be diagnosed at a late stage in the disease.

They also face a lack of resources that enable them to monitor their progress, as well as poor nutrition and problems taking the drugs prescribed on a regular basis.

Baggaley says the goal of antiviral therapy in Malawi and other countries is that more people will be diagnosed earlier in the course of the disease.  This in turn will enable them to get on the drug regimen earlier, feel better and live longer.   But Ms. Baggaley adds that early diagnosis⁴ also has consequences.

"This means altogether that actually HIV prevalence increases with antiretroviral therapy," she added.  "If we saw an increase in sexual behavior as well, this would increase it even further."

She cited the example of the United States, where the widespread use of antiviral drugs led to an increase in unprotected sexual activity among gay HIV-positive men.

As always, Baggaley says the message of her and other recent studies is that safe sex counseling is an essential part of any AIDS control program.

1 envisaging   

想像，设想( envisage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 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。