VOA常速英语2007年-Bird Flu Concerns Persist in Nigeria Before Hol

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
16 December 2007

With the approach of Christmas and Muslims marking Sallah, poultry¹ consumption in Nigeria is expected to reach an all-time high this month. As Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja, recent reports indicating the virus remains² entrenched³ in Nigeria and an outbreak in neighboring Benin have prompted fresh concerns about bird flu infecting humans in Nigeria.

 

Health officials in northern Nigeria are disinfecting poultry markets in a bid to stem cases of bird flu before Christmas and the Muslim festival of Sallah, this month.

 

Despite efforts to deal with the deadly H5N1 strain since it was first reported in Nigeria nearly two years ago, experts say the virus is still entrenched in the country and remains a worldwide threat.

 

Nigeria Veterinary Association president Dr. Garba Sharabutu says control and elimination⁴ have become a huge challenge to the authorities.

 

"There is no way we can boast of eradicating⁵ this disease because of the nature of the disease. It will take a very long time for us to get out of the disease," said Sharabutu.  "And the only thing we still continue to do, is surveillance and cross-checking. We can control the disease just like we are trying to do right now."

 

Poultry consumption is expected to peak during the next few days.

 

Nigeria 's western neighbor, Benin, last week declared its first outbreak of bird flu, and coupled with Nigeria 's limited success in containing the virus, alarm bells are ringing once again.

 

Sharabutu says having a poultry meal this holiday period should not invoke⁶ any particular fear, provided the source of supply is certified⁷ safe.

 

"I can say that right now, the situation is under control and there is no risk in trading in livestock," added Sharabutu. "The number of outbreaks has substantially reduced. It will not constitute any problem if our people continue to trade in these animals, provided those farms that animals are coming from, are guaranteed avian flu-free."

 

Nigeria, the continent's most populous⁸ nation with about 140 million people, reported sub-Saharan Africa's first human bird-flu death earlier this year.

 

There have been more than 200 human deaths globally from H5N1 strain and 340 confirmed cases of infection since 2003, according to the World Health Organization data.

1 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?

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

4 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

5 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

6 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

7 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。