VOA标准英语2012--MSF: Alarming Scope of Drug-Resistant TB

MSF: Alarming Scope of Drug-Resistant TB

A medical aid group says the spread of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis¹ is much greater than previously² thought. Doctors Without Borders calls the situation alarming. MDR-TB is a form of tuberculosis that does not respond to standard treatment and can kill in a matter of months.

“Wherever we’re looking for drug-resistant TB we’re finding it in very alarming numbers. And that suggests to us that the current statistics that are being published about the prevalence of MDR-TB are really just scratching the surface of the problem,” said Dr. Leslie Shanks, medical director for the group, also known as MSF.

MSF has been collecting data from its clinics around the world.

“We have evidence from Asia, Africa, central Asia. Wherever we are working we are finding this problem,” she said.

It’s not just showing up in many places, it’s showing up in large numbers.

“In our program, for example, in the northern part of Uzbekistan we’ve started to test systematically³ all of our TB patients for drug resistance, whether or not they appear to be at risk for drug resistance. And we’re finding that two-thirds of our patients are MDR, which is just an astounding⁴ number,” she said.

Going undetected

The MSF medical director says MDR-TB can go unnoticed during a routine TB exam. Its symptoms are similar to the more common form of TB. Dr. Shanks explained why it’s spread so quickly and so far.

“We know that drug resistance is a man-made problem. It comes from incorrect treatment. It comes from the availability of over-the-counter tuberculosis medications. It comes from patients not taking their drugs properly or drug supplies running out. So they’re not able to finish their treatment. And sometimes it comes from just doctors’ prescribing patterns,” she said.

There’s good reason why patients with MDR-TB would stop taking their medication. They have to swallow about 14 pills daily of highly toxic⁵ drugs. Treatment can last up to two years and there are many unpleasant side effects. Plus there are additional injections required. Regular TB treatment has few, if any, side effects and lasts about six months. There are also a lot fewer pills to take.

Out with the old…

Current drugs are many decades old. Shanks says there’s little incentive⁶ to discover new TB drugs.

“There’s very little market for this. We’re really pushing now that there is funding for new drug development for clinical trial; and that pharmaceutical⁷ companies are working on drug development to address this issue,” she said.

She says without new drugs it will be difficult to deal with the expanding scope of MDR-TB. She adds the disease knows no borders and that developed countries are not immune.

1 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。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

4 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

6 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

7 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。