VOA标准英语2014--隔离埃博拉卫生工作者并不能隔离病源

 

Quarantines for Ebola Health Workers Don't Stop the Disease 隔离埃博拉卫生工作者并不能隔离病源

Fear of Ebola has spread around the world. Some countries have closed their borders to citizens of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. In the United States, returning health workers have been verbally attacked and, in at least one case, confined to an unheated outdoor tent in chilly¹ autumn temperatures.

Nurse Kaci Hickox was forced into a mandatory² quarantine in a cold tent outside a New Jersey³ hospital after returning to the U.S. from Sierra Leone. Hickox did not have a fever or other symptoms of Ebola. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ordered the quarantine and defended his move.

"We are not going to take any risks with the public health in New Jersey," said Christie.

Only two Americans, both nurses, contracted Ebola at a Dallas hospital from a Liberian man who died from the virus. One nurse flew to Cleveland before coming down with the telltale fever.

Infectious disease experts say the risk of getting Ebola, even from someone who has just started a fever, is very low.

Dr. Alan Magill spoke⁴ by Skype from a conference in New Orleans, where Ebola experts were to gather -- except the governor of Louisiana imposed mandatory quarantines on anyone who had been to West Africa, even if they had not come into contact with Ebola patients.  

"Intimate contact with infectious bodily fluids is how people get infected. That is typically not what is seen on an airplane," said Magill.

Stephen Morrison works on global health issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said the quarantine is not based on science, but it works for the governors.

"They are trying to minimize risk. They are also trying to control public panic and fear," he said.

Morrison said the governors also were trying to curry⁵ favor with voters in an election year. Public opinion polls indicate 75 percent to 80 percent of Americans want returning health workers to undergo a mandatory 21-day quarantine after treating Ebola patients, even if they do not have a fever. But experts say mandatory quarantines can backfire. They can discourage health workers from volunteering.

"I think the overriding⁶ priority is to end the epidemic⁷, so that means we make it as easy as we can for our workers to go and to come back," said Magill.

After three days, Hickox was allowed to return to her home in Maine, where the state's governor ordered her to stay indoors under a mandatory quarantine. She refused to follow it, took her case to court and won. But, she said, more needs to be done.

"We will only win this battle, as we continue this discussion, as we gain a better collective understanding about Ebola and public health, as we overcome the fear, and most importantly, as we end the outbreak that is still ongoing⁸ in West Africa today," she said.

Hickox is now allowed to leave her house, but has agreed not to go to populated places.

1 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

2 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

6 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

7 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。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。