VOA标准英语2015--Overcoming HIV Obstacles in 2015

 

Overcoming HIV Obstacles in 2015

The head of a prominent HIV/AIDS advocacy organization says 2015 will be a year of great opportunities and great challenges. The epidemic¹ is nearly 35 years old and more than 30 million people are estimated to be living with HIV.

Mitchell Warren said one challenge of the New Year will be to translate recent scientific advances into practice. Warren is executive director of AVAC, which, he said, “aims to accelerate the ethical² development and global delivery of HIV prevention tools as part of a comprehensive response.”

“This is a year that will define the AIDS response. We’re now over 34 years into the epidemic. And it is truly a point at which we will know if we are on the right track to ever ending this epidemic, or if we continue to muddle³ through year by year hoping we do the right things, but not knowing for sure,” he said.

Promising⁴ prevention option

Early in 2015, results should be announced regarding a promising HIV prevention option – an effective microbicide.

“As you may recall, back in 2010, we had the initial proof of concept of the CAPRISA trial that showed the tenofovir gel provided some partial protection for women in South Africa,” he said.

Tenofovir is an antiretroviral widely used to subdue⁵ the virus within the body. But it’s also been shown to be effective in preventing infections.

Since 2010, a study has been underway to confirm and expand on the CAPRISA findings. It’s called FACTS001 and is also taking place in South Africa. The study is funded by the U.S. and South African governments and the Gates Foundation.

Warren said FACTS001 could confirm whether tenofovir gel, used before and after sex, can prevent HIV infection. 

“The results were expected in the first quarter of the year. If that’s a positive result and if it confirms the CAPRISA finding, we would then be looking at how do you take that product forward -- outside of clinical trial – into practice? So a very exciting first quarter I think just because of that trial result.”

At the end of 2015 and in early 2016, the results of two other microbicide studies are expected to be released. One will look at the effectiveness of a vaginal ring filled with an antiretroviral drug.

Also, in South Africa, an AIDS vaccine⁶ trial gets underway this year. It’s a follow-up to the 2009 Thailand vaccine trial that showed protection against HIV was possible. The results from the South Africa trial and related studies, however, will not be available for several years.

Improving detection

Meanwhile, greater use of antiretrovirals as a preventive measure is expected. It’s called PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis. But the AVAC executive director said the predominant use will remain as treatment for those infected.

“2014 ended with the calls by the United Nations AIDS program, UNAIDS, to really set a new target about treatment. The UNAIDS new target is this 90/90/90, trying to make sure that 90 percent of people who are infected know their status. That 90 percent of them get onto treatment and that 90 percent of those on treatment are, what we call, virologically suppressed. And if they’re virologically suppressed it means they are very unlikely to transmit HIV,” he said.

He said an “ambitious, but feasible” goal would be to have 15 million people on HIV treatment by the end of 2015.

“That would be a terrific step in the right direction, but of course there are over 30 million people infected with HIV. So we have a very long way to go to really see treatment scale up to the degree that we need it to. But it is on the right trajectory⁷. Drug pricing is coming down because you have much higher volumes.”

However, he added that there are antiretroviral supply problems at some clinics in developing countries.

“For all of the excitement around prevention, around treatment, it really becomes a resource question. Because this success in the AIDS response does not come cheap and it certainly does not come free. And the question really becomes are we as a global community going to continue to scale up our investments in the things that we know can work? Because all the talk of ending the epidemic is predicated on good science and on real resources. And we’re beginning to see those resources eroding,” he said.

Warren does not foresee an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic for at least 10 years. One of the obstacles is ongoing⁸ stigma⁹ and discrimination. He said unless that problem is solved, no vaccine or antiretroviral will be effective in the long-term. He said that “there is no medical response that can address people’s perceptions of others.”

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 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

3 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

6 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

7 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

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。

9 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。