Federal officials Tuesday sought to assure Americans they are taking aggressive action to respond to the swine flu outbreak in the United States. Their testimony before a Senate panel came as senators confirmed President Barack Obama's choice to head the Health and Human Services Department, which will play a key role in implementing the government's response to the disease.
美国负责公共卫生事务的官员星期二前往国会作证，努力向美国公众表示，有关部门正在积极采取措施应对猪流感疫情。与此同时，国会参议院星期二还批准了奥巴马总统卫生与公共事务部长人选的提名。卫生与公共事务部长一职将在应对猪流感疫情中扮演重要角色。
Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee that deals with health issues, held the first of a series of congressional hearings this week on the swine flu outbreak:
爱奥华州民主党参议员哈尔金是参议院负责处理公共健康事务的拨款小组委员会主席。哈尔金星期二主持了有关猪流感疫情的听证会。这是本星期国会一系列听证会中的第一个。
"There is a lot of anxiety, understandably so, among people as to where we are in this, what's the threat, where we go from here," said Senator Harkin.
哈尔金说：“目前人们感到十分担心，非常希望知道目前局势如何，都有哪些威胁，应该做些什么。”
Soon after the hearing began, President Barack Obama sent a letter to Congress asking for an additional $1.5 billion to strengthen the country's response to the outbreak. The money would fund new medical equipment and production of a vaccine.
就在这次听证开始不久，总统奥巴马给国会写信，希望国会追加15亿美元拨款，用于加强抗击猪流感项目，如添加新的医疗设备和生产疫苗等。
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told the Senate panel that efforts are already underway to find a vaccine:
美国国家卫生研究院免疫疾病和传染病研究所主任法奇在参议院作证时说，疫苗的研制工作已经开始了。
"We are proceeding along the line that is a step-by-step process of getting a vaccine against this particular virus," said Dr. Fauci.
法奇说：“我们已经一步步地开始了针对这一病毒的疫苗的开发工作。”
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican from the U.S. border state of Texas, asked why the border could not be closed to help prevent the spread of the swine flu into the United States from Mexico, where scores of people have died from the disease.
德克萨斯州共和党参议员哈奇森问，为什么不能关闭美国和墨西哥边境来防止疫情蔓延到美国。
Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, the Center for Disease Control's interim science and public health deputy director, said there are more effective ways to curb the spread of the virus.
美国疾病控制中心负责科研和健康事务的代理主任舒哈特说，美国有比关闭边境更有效的方法来防范病毒的蔓延。
"Based on the pattern of the illness that we are seeing here in the United States, we do not think that this virus can be contained, that we can stop it at the border," said Admiral Schuchat. "But we do think we can reduce the impact of its spread, and we can reduce the impact of health."
她说，根据我们在美国所看到的病例模式，我们不认为这种病毒可以被围堵在边境外。但是我们相信我们可以减小其对公共健康的危害。
She reiterated suggestions from other U.S. health officials that schools be closed if cases of the flu are discovered there and that those infected stay home from work or school.
她重申了美国卫生官员的建议，也就是如果哪个学校一旦发现有猪流感病例，就应该关闭，被感染者不再上学或者外出工作。
Meanwhile, late Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, the last member of President Obama's cabinet to be approved by the Senate.
在另一方面，参议院星期二批准了奥巴马总统最后一项重要内阁部长的提名，确认堪萨斯州州长西贝利厄斯为卫生与公共事务部长。
The vote was 65 to 31, with many Republicans voting against Sebelius because of her record in support of abortion rights.
Among them was Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and a physician:
奥克拉何马州共和党参议员科本就是投反对票的议员之一。
"I think there is a critical defect in this nominee, whereas if you are going to be charged with the health and the services of humans in this society, that you are confused on this very issue of transparency and accountability of taking the life of an unborn child," said Senator Coburn.
本人也是医生的科本说，这一任命有一个非常关键的错误。在有关剥夺未出生婴儿生命的问题中，涉及到透明度和承担责任的问题。而正是在这个问题上，负责健康卫生和服务于人的官员本身却不明是非。
But Sebelius' supporters argued that her confirmation was important in light of the swine flu outbreak.
但是西贝利厄斯的支持者说，目前猪流感疫情正在蔓延，这个时候批准西贝利厄斯的提名是十分重要的。
Senator Mark Warner is a Virginia Democrat:
维吉尼亚州民主党参议员沃纳说：
"It is essential for the health of the nation that President Obama has in place and the nation has in place a strong Secretary of Health and Human Services to make sure that our federal efforts on this potential pandemic are ably coordinated," said Senator Warner.
“奥巴马总统和我们的国家有一位出色的卫生与公共事务部长，对美国的公共健康来说是十分重要的。她将确保协调各联邦政府部门应对可能爆发的大规模疫情。”
President Obama nominated Sebelius after his first choice for the post, former Senator Tom Daschle, withdrew in early February over a controversy relating to unpaid taxes.
奥巴马总统曾提名前参议员达施勒出任这一职务。但后来达施勒因有关纳税问题的争议而在二月份请求撤回他的提名。 |