VOA标准英语2014--Ebola Strains Sierra Leone Healthcare

 

Ebola Strains Sierra Leone Healthcare

 The Head of World Hope International says Sierra Leone has a shortage¹ of ambulances and isolation² centers, making it much more difficult to contain the Ebola outbreak. The virus has killed more than 600 people in the country.

WHI President John Lyon said the Ebola virus continues its rapid spread in Sierra Leone.

“There are about five new infections per hour there. So the rate of infection is greatly outstripping³ the number of beds they have to hold patients.”

He said some hospitals have ambulances, some don’t. So, people often take taxis, which contribute to the spread of the disease. WHI has donated some of its vehicles to be used as ambulances.

“You really need to have people who are trained in infection control to be able to move people who have Ebola around. That’s a major problem across the country,” he said.

Lyon said Sierra Leoneans are scared and hope the outbreak ends soon. The disease has forced them to change their behavior.

“Culturally, Sierra Leoneans are very, very friendly people. You shake hands a lot. Now, they’re conscious not to touch each other, which is also very odd for a country that’s so friendly.”

World Hope International has been asked to provide borehole water wells and sanitation⁴ facilities for the treatment centers.

Lyon said, “It’s a massive⁵ order. So we’re going to try and fill it as quickly as possible. We’ve been doing that already. We’ve been working on the Makeni hospital. Just last week we put in a submersible pump and then we’re drilling a new water well for Makeni hospital.  That hospital just in the last month has had 100 cases of Ebola.”

WHI has also provided rain pavilions at Ebola checkpoints.

“They’ve set up these quarantines across the country. But alongside⁶ of the quarantines they have these Ebola checkpoints. Everybody that goes through the checkpoint has to get stopped. They have to get out of their car. Everybody gets their temperature checked that way. When the Ebola outbreak hit it was during the rainy season. We’re just now starting to come out of the rainy season. But during the rainy season everybody was having to stand out in the rain waiting for their temperature to get checked. So, we were providing some rain pavilions so that this process could take place under a dry roof,” he said.

The Sierra Leone government is conducting a massive education campaign about Ebola – something that was rarely mentioned before the outbreak.  Much of that is being done through radio and going door-to-door. Recently, the government asked people to stay home for three days while 30,000 volunteers went to homes to raise awareness⁷ about the disease.

Lyon said, “That was a good campaign. It was an unusual one, but it did provide some good results. It helped the government identify where the cases are spreading the most. One of the problems in Sierra Leone is that the confidence in the medical system has collapsed⁸ so much that people are now afraid to go to Ebola centers or the hospitals to get treatment. And so what was happening was people are just staying home and not going out to get treatment. As a result they were just continuing to spread the virus further and further.”

Despite the international effort to provide medical supplies, there continues to be a huge need in Sierra Leone for such things as rubber gloves, masks and protection suits.

“It’s coming in in a rush now. So it’s coming in by the airport, coming in by the seaport⁹. Once it gets there, we’re supporting non-profits to get it from the port to the hospitals where they need it. We have two 10 ton trucks we’re working with and a trailer. We have other smaller trucks that we’re using to get the supplies out to the places where they actually need it,” he said.

When asked how the Ebola outbreak got to this extent, Lyon blames the slow international response. The first case occurred in Guinea last December, but he says the local and international communities failed to adequately respond until July. The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders had warned last March that the outbreak had reached epidemic¹⁰ levels. 

Also, other outbreaks, such as those in the DRC, occurred in remote, isolated¹¹ areas. In West Africa, the population is much denser¹² and more mobile. 

1 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

2 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

3 outstripping   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Demand is outstripping supply. 需求快超过供给了。
• Demand is outstripping current production. 现在需求逐渐超过了生产能力。 来自辞典例句

4 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

5 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

6 alongside   

adv.在旁边；prep.和...在一起，在...旁边

参考例句：

• There was a butcher's shop alongside the theatre.剧院旁边有一家肉店。
• Alongside of him stood his uncle.他的身旁站着他叔叔。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

10 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。

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 denser   

adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• As Tito entered the neighbourhood of San Martino, he found the throng rather denser. 蒂托走近圣马丁教堂附近一带时，发现人群相当密集。