DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Dog Collars and Leishmaniasis

DEVELOPMENT REPORT – September 30, 2002: Dog Collars and Leishmaniasis

By Jill Moss¹

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Up to five-hundred-million people are infected each year with a disease² called leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGHa-sis). Most of the victims are young children in poor countries. An organism³ called the leishmaniasis parasite⁴
causes the disease. It is spread by the bite of a sandfly. The insect passes the parasite from dogs to humans.

Recently, a study found that children could be protected from visceral leishmaniasis
if dogs wear collars with chemicals to guard against insect bites. Dog collars are
worn around the neck. They usually are made of metal or animal skin.

There are four forms of leishmaniasis. Visceral leishmaniasis causes high body
temperature. It also can affect some organs of the body. Victims may not produce
enough white blood cells. The disease will kill if it is not treated. Most victims of
visceral leishmaniasis are in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal and Sudan.

In the study, research scientists from Britain and Tabriz University in Iran studied eighteen Iranian villages
during a period when leishmaniasis often is spread. The researchers gave chemically treated collars to dog
owners. After one year, the researchers tested dogs and children in all the villages for the parasite, known as
Leishmaniasis infantum. The infection rate was cut by fifty-four percent in dogs. The rate in children dropped by
forty-two percent.

Using chemically treated dog collars is one of several ways to control the spread of leishmaniasis. One method is
to cover or spray⁵ houses with chemicals designed to kill insects. Another way is to destroy dogs without owners
and other animals that show signs of the disease.

These methods are reported to have helped in China. However, they have not been very effective in other areas.
In Brazil, for example, the number of leishmaniasis cases has risen slowly during the past twenty years. The
researchers report that two-hundred-thousand homes in Brazil were sprayed⁶ and twenty-thousand dogs destroyed
each year during this period.

The World Health Organization estimates⁷ that twelve-million people are infected with leishmaniasis worldwide.
The W-H-O estimates that at least three-hundred-fifty-million people in eighty-eight countries may be at risk of
infection.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.

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1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 organism   

n.生物，有机体；(如生物的)机体、有机组织

参考例句：

• The economy is not a mechanical device but a living organism.经济不是一套机械装置,而是活的有机体。
• Selection will root out such organism.自然选择将把这些物种消灭掉。

4 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

5 spray   

v.喷，(使)溅散；n.浪花，飞沫；喷雾

参考例句：

• The liquid came out of the bottle in a spray.液体从瓶子里呈雾状喷出。
• We were wet with the sea spray.我们被海水的浪花溅湿。

6 sprayed   

v.喷( spray的过去式和过去分词 )；向…扫射（或抛洒），往…上撒；尤指雄猫撒尿（以示领地占有）

参考例句：

• They sprayed aerosol insect repellent into the faces of police. 他们将喷雾驱虫剂喷在了警察的脸上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front of the house had been sprayed with white paint. 房子的正面已喷上了白漆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》