VOA标准英语2010年-Swaziland to Get New TB Testing Facili

Swaziland has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world - 26 percent for those between the ages of 15 and 29. But to deal with the epidemic¹, health officials must do more than increase treatment, care and prevention efforts. They must also address another disease that's targeting HIV-positive people more and more often – tuberculosis².

Much progress has been made in extending the lives of people living with HIV, the AIDS virus. Anti-retroviral drugs – or ARVs – can literally³ pull people back from death's door.

It's estimated that about five million people worldwide are currently receiving the drugs. However, it's believed as many as 10 million people actually need them. Without ARVs, HIV can weaken or destroy the immune system, leaving the body defenseless against many opportunistic infections.

One of them is tuberculosis, which can often kill much more quickly than HIV. So health officials now look at HIV and TB in combination in dealing⁴ with the AIDS pandemic.

HIV/TB

Dr. Mary Kathryn Linde, who recently visited Swaziland, says, "Because of the prominence⁵ of AIDS in that country, the resistance to organisms like TB is much lowered in the general population. And so it is transmitted more easily. And then once an individual has it they don't have the immune resistance to be able to combat it. And so it's taken a terrible toll⁶."

 

ASCP
Dr. Mary Kathryn Linde in Swaziland
To help Swaziland deal with the growing TB threat, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to renovate⁷ a TB testing facility in Mbabane. It's a joint⁸ effort by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Doctors Without borders.

Dr. Linde, who represents the pathology group, says a high quality lab plays a vital role in controlling the spread of TB.

"It's so important to have the correct diagnosis⁹ and a very rapid, timely diagnosis so that the patient can be treated. The patient[s] can't be treated until they are diagnosed," she says.

A lab that meets standards set by the Centers for Disease Control also makes it much easier for patients.

Linde says, "Another problem is that the people have to travel to get to the laboratory. And they don't have the money to actually do that. And then if they have to come back they may not be able to afford to come back or may not be physically¹⁰ able to come back. They need to be diagnosed as rapidly as possible and be treated as rapidly as possible."
 

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 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 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。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。