VOA标准英语2008年-Zanzibar Study Paves Way for Convenient Three-D

By Jessica Berman
Washington
23 January 2008

Three antiparasitic drugs may soon be dispensed² simultaneously³ to people living in areas in Africa that are endemic for parasitic¹ worms.  The results of a large study from Zanzibar show administering three drugs at the same time causes minimal⁴ side effects.  Experts say the regimen, if adopted, would result in significant cost savings⁵.  VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

Experts say many people in Zanzibar and other parasite-endemic regions are usually infected with more than one type of worm. 

Antiparasitic drugs are given each year to manage the worm infections.  The drugs are not usually dispensed at the same time for all of the diseases.  Public health officials say time and resources could be saved if all three drugs could be doled⁶ out simultaneously.

The study in Zanzibar, part of Tanzania, involved a three-drug regimen of Ivermectin, albendazole and praziquantel.  The drugs are active against worms that cause elephantiasis and schistosomiasis and soil-worms or helminths.

An estimated 200 million people worldwide are infected with the worm responsible for schistosomiasis, which is caused by bathing in river water contaminated with human waste.

The parasites⁷ burrow⁸ into the skin, eventually finding their way to vital organs including the liver, lungs and intestines⁹, where they reproduce, wreaking¹⁰ havoc¹¹ on their human host.

More than one billion people in 80 countries are at risk of contracting lymphatic filariasis, known as Elephantiasis, which is transmitted by mosquitos infected with parasitic filarial worms. The worms lodge¹² in the lymphatic system, causing accumulations of lymph fluid that lead to massive swellings of limbs, usually the feet.

The first phase of the study involved more than 5,000 children.  After finding no severe side effects to the triple therapy, investigators¹³ from Zanzibar and Tanzania - as well as from the School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool, England - expanded  the trial to treat Zanzibar's entire eligible¹⁴ population of 700,000 people.

Again, investigators found the side effects were minimal when the drugs were given together.
 
David Molyneux is with the Lymphatic Filariasis Center at the School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool.  He says that drug companies are donating two of the antiworm drugs, Ivermectin and albendazole.

Molyneux adds that a dose of the third drug, praziquantel, to treat schistosomiasis, costs 20 cents.

"Basically what we are saying is that for 50 cents - which would be 20 for the praziquantel, 30 cents for the delivery and the social mobilization - you could really make pretty big cost savings in delivery and treat the targeted populations across a much wider area of Africa," he said.

Molyneux is co-author of the study on the triple drug regimen, which is published in an online journal of the Public Library of Science.

Molyneux says further studies will be done to confirm the safety of the three-drug regimen, which could then be submitted to the World Health Organization for approval.

1 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

2 dispensed   

v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• Not a single one of these conditions can be dispensed with. 这些条件缺一不可。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

4 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

7 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

8 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

9 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

10 wreaking   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Coal mining is a messy business, often wreaking terrible environmental damage nearby. 采矿是肮脏的行业，往往会严重破坏周边环境。
• The floods are wreaking havoc in low-lying areas. 洪水正在地势低洼地区肆虐。

11 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

12 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

13 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。