塞卡病毒比埃博拉危害更大

 　　The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America could be a bigger threat to global health than the Ebola epidemic¹ that killed more than 11,000 people in Africa.

　　That's according to several public health experts who spoke² with the Guardian³ and Examiner newspapers ahead of an emergency meeting of the World Health Organization on Monday, which will decide whether the Zika threat should be rated a global health crisis.

　　Brazilian public health authorities are reporting an increase in cases of microcephaly, a fetal deformation⁴ where infants are born with abnormally small heads. The incidence of the normally rare birth defect is 10 times higher than normal.

　　The cause is under investigation⁵, but there appears to be a correlation⁶ between the condition and Zika infections in expectant mothers.

　　Zika Feared to Be Greater Health Threat Than Ebola

　　Silent infection

　　"In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15," Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust, told the Guardian. "Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals, pregnant women, that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies."

　　There is currently no prospect⁷ of a vaccine⁸ for Zika, in contrast to Ebola, for which several are now under trial.

　　"The real problem is that trying to develop a vaccine that would have to be tested on pregnant women is a practical and ethical⁹ nightmare," said Mike Turner, head of infection and immunobiology at the Wellcome Trust.

　　The World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Pan American Health Organization warn the Zika virus is spreading rapidly through the Americas and could affect as many as four million people.

　　Threat to US

　　Dr. Peter Hotez told the Examiner newspaper that the Zika outbreak in Brazil poses a "far greater threat to the United States than Ebola," A Zika outbreak has "never been seen on this scale," Hotez said, despite its prevalence in Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands.

　　Zika is a viral illness spread from human to human through the bite of a mosquito.

　　Two species of mosquito are known to carry the virus, the Yellow Fever mosquito and the Asian Tiger mosquito. Both species are found throughout most of the Americas. The Yellow Fever mosquito can be found along the Gulf¹⁰ Coast of the United States while the Asian Tiger mosquito can be found as far north as New York City.

　　Avoiding affected¹¹ countries

　　Meanwhile, health authorities in several Asian countries have advised travelers, particularly pregnant women, to avoid trips to Central and South America.

　　The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned pregnant women against traveling to areas with Zika virus outbreaks.

　　They have asked people coming or returning from those areas, who display symptoms such as fever and rashes to immediately report to health centers. Doctors are also required to immediately report suspected cases.

　　Colombia's National Health Institute has recommended couples delay pregnancy¹² for six to eight months.

　　US, Brazil agree on joint¹³ efforts

　　Faced with the Zika outbreak, the presidents of the United States and Brazil have agreed on "the importance of collaborative efforts" to combat its spread.

　　Barack Obama and Dilma Rouseff recognize the significance of working together "to deepen our knowledge, advance research, and accelerate work to develop better vaccines¹⁴ and other technologies to control the virus," the White House said.

　　In the meantime, Brazil has turned to a British company, Oxitec, for help. According to The New York Times, Brazil recently approved the release of multiple groups of genetically¹⁶ modified Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, created by Oxitec, throughout the country.

　　The idea behind the release of the mosquitos is for the mature modified males to mate with females. Their offspring who inherited the modified gene¹⁵ would die, causing the mosquito population to dwindle¹⁷ and, hopefully, lower the threat of the disease.

　　The WHO says the virus has grown rapidly to a public-health threat of "alarming proportions." Julius Lutwana, a virologist at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, told VOA Zika was long thought to pose only a small risk to humans.

　　Protecting against mosquito bites

　　The WHO says people with the Zika virus have a mild fever, skin rash and conjunctivitis (red eye) with symptoms lasting¹⁸ between two to seven days. The best prevention against Zika virus, experts say, is protection against mosquito bites.

　　Outbreaks in Brazil, which reported its first Zika case in 2015, and elsewhere in southern and Central America have led to extensive spraying of insecticides to eradicate¹⁹ mosquitoes.

　　The WHO's regional office in the Americas said the most effective ways to stop the virus from spreading are to reduce mosquito breeding sites and for people to protect themselves from bites with insect repellent, nets, screens and clothing that covers as much of the body as possible.

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 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。

3 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

4 deformation   

n.形状损坏；变形；畸形

参考例句：

• The deformation frequencies are not sufficiently distinctive.其变形频率不是十分明显的。
• The calculated deformation is almost equal to the real situation by measurement.经检测，计算变形量与实际情况基本一致。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 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。

9 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。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 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。

12 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

15 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

16 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

17 dwindle   

v.逐渐变小（或减少）

参考例句：

• The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.工厂雇员总数已经从4,000多人减少到几百人。
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority.他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。

18 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

19 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。