VOA标准英语2014--WHO: Number of New Ebola Cases in West Africa Levels Off

 

WHO: Number of New Ebola Cases in West Africa Levels Off

The World Health Organization said the number of new Ebola infections in West Africa is about the same as it was the week before, with a rise in some areas and a decline in others.

Reports from Sierra Leone found the number of new Ebola cases has risen drastically in the past weeks.

Justin Forsyth, head of the Save the Children fund, said many of his staff have lost family members in the vicious outbreak.

"I met one of our education advisers¹ that lost 14 members of his family. So they are dealing² with a huge amount of pressure and anxiety, they're heroes in this struggle against Ebola and the international staff who are coming in to support this, nurses and doctors and logisticians and health advisors," Forsyth said.

Those who are burying Ebola victims are as much in danger as those who care for Ebola patients, so they have to wear elaborate protective gear.

"Within Sierra Leone, there's a really, really elaborate burial rites³ and that includes washing by hand a diseased person and also at the funeral - touching⁴ the body," said Fiona McLysaght, country director of Concern Worldwide in Sierra Leone.

"So you've gone from a stage of having a very elaborate ceremony - then in this case, you've got people who were deceased and were taken from their family by people dressed from head to toe in plastic suits, they're indistinguishable and it's a very scary situation," McLysaght said.

New Ebola cases slow

In Liberia, the frightening spread of Ebola seems to be slowing down, as the number of new cases has not grown. International aid providers said they are taking great care to prevent the spread of the virus.

"We have to run a very strict, no-contact policy, which means that in any zone where they're distributing, the site that they've chosen, they will establish what they will call the safe area," said Anna Halford, distribution coordinator⁵ for Doctors Without Borders. "So they will make the line of people around it, so that while we distribute straight out of the back of a truck so that nothing that people have touched, people are obliged to take, and vice⁶ versa."

The international community is responding to calls for more help to the affected⁷ region.

The Dutch navy is sending one of its biggest ships, Karel Doorman, with an entire hospital in a container. On the way to Africa, it will pick up additional aid from other European Union members.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced his country's contribution on Wednesday.

"We will commit up to 20 million (Australian) dollars to staff an Ebola treatment center, a 100-bed Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone," Abbott said. "This will be a center that's being built by the United Kingdom, but it will be staffed by Australia through a medical provider, Aspen, an Australian provider."

Also Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve $6.18 billion in new emergency Ebola funds for West Africa and to prevent its spread outside the continent.

1 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

2 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。

3 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

4 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。