VOA慢速英语2014 肯尼亚研究人员开发疟疾疫苗

 

Kenyan Researchers Developing Malaria¹ Vaccine² 肯尼亚研究人员开发疟疾疫苗

Malaria control efforts depend mainly on things like chemically-treated mosquito nets and sprays designed to kill the disease-carrying insects. But scientists in Kenya say another method -- a vaccine -- will be available next year. Researchers are already testing the vaccine on volunteers. If tests are successful, the treatment could add an important new weapon in efforts to control and possibly stop the disease.

Malaria kills more than 500,000 people a year worldwide. The disease sickens millions more every year. Many of those who die or become sick are children living in African countries south of the Sahara Desert.  

Kisumu is the third-largest city in Kenya. One-third of all patients in and near the city suffer from malaria.

Existing malaria control efforts have helped to reduce the number of infections over the past ten years. But there has never been a vaccine to protect people against the disease.

Scientists in Kisumu have created a vaccine that they are now testing on people. They worked with the British drug company GlaxoSmithKline and others to develop the vaccine. Scientists say vaccinating³ people -- especially young children -- is necessary if the disease is to be stopped.

Dr. Martina Oneko is a pediatrician -- a doctor who cares for babies and children. She helped to carry out a study on the effectiveness of a malaria vaccine, in rural western Kenya.

“We saw a very good success of the vaccine resulting in health improvements in these children. They were just not as sick as their counterparts in the community who were not vaccinated⁴. The overall vaccine efficacy in the older age group for all the sites was 47 percent and in the younger age group it was 27 percent.”

The vaccine stops the malaria parasite⁵ from infecting -- and reproducing in -- the liver. After a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite bites its victim, infected blood from the liver enters the body and infects other red blood cells. This process causes malaria.

Malaria researchers say the vaccine may not stop the spread of malaria by itself. But if it is used in combination with existing interventions⁶, the lives of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa will be saved.

Words in This Story

spray – v. to put (something) on a surface or into the air using a special container that produces a stream of small drops of liquid or gas

vaccine – n. a substance containing killed or weakened organisms given to a person or animal to produce protection against a disease

infect – v. to make sick with something that causes disease

efficacy – n. the power to produce a desired result or effect

parasite – n. an animal or organism that lives in or on another animal or plant and gets food or protection from it

introduction – n. the act of bringing something into practice or use for the first time

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 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。

3 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

4 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

5 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。

6 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网