VOA慢速英语2019--莫桑比克确认霍乱

Cholera¹ Confirmed in Mozambique

Officials in Mozambique said Wednesday several cases of cholera have been confirmed in the city of Beira. These are the first confirmed cases of cholera announced there since Cyclone² Idai hit the area on March 14.

Officials and aid workers are still struggling to provide clean water and sanitation³, as well as help hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes.

Ussene Isse is the national director of medical assistance.

“You know, cholera is an epidemic⁴ situation,” he said. “When you have one case, you expect to have more cases in the community.”

Cholera is a major problem for cyclone survivors⁵ living in crowded camps, schools, churches and other places where there are still flood waters. The disease is spread by contaminated food and water. It causes severe diarrhea and can kill within hours. It can be treated with different types of rehydration.

The World Health Organization has warned of another disaster if cholera spreads throughout the area. On Tuesday it said 900,000 cholera vaccines⁶ were expected to arrive later this week.

Health workers were opening clinics across Beira, the center of aid operations for the area.

Expect more health problems

Some people in the city have started to drink standing⁷ water by the side of the road. Doing this increases the chances of diarrhea, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said.

The aid group said it has seen hundreds of cases of severe watery⁸ diarrhea in the past few days. Gert Verdonck is the group’s emergency official in Beira.

He said, “Extreme damage will likely lead to an … increase of waterborne diseases, skin infections … and malaria⁹ in the coming days and weeks.”

Efforts to help are continuing

Workers are continuing their efforts to get clean running water to Beira. The United Nations children’s agency said parts of the city’s water supply system were working again. It said there was “water running in 60 percent of the pipes.” The government also was operating water trucks.

Aid operations continued to explore ways to send aid to the city, which is reachable only by air and sea. There has been no contact with some small communities beyond the city.

Aid groups continued to arrive in Mozambique. The United Nations has asked the international community to give $282 million to the country for the next three months.

The U.N. refugee agency announced that its first aid flight had landed in the country’s capital. The agency plans to send supplies to Beira immediately.

Two other flights are planned for Zimbabwe and Malawi this week.

President Nyusi and Pope Francis

In a televised speech to the nation, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said Pope Francis will visit the devastated¹⁰ country in September. The Pope’s visit will help the nation “rebuild,” Nyusi said.

President Nyusi last week estimated that 1,000 people had been killed. The number could be higher as floodwaters leave and more bodies appear, some emergency workers have said. The true number of dead may never be known.

The cyclone had winds of up to 240 kilometers an hour and destroyed whole villages.

One resident told The Associated Press, “The cyclone destroyed everything we built for more than 100 years.”

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

cholera - n. a serious disease that causes severe vomiting¹¹ and diarrhea and that often results in death

sanitation - n. the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, disease, etc., by removing waste, trash and garbage, by cleaning streets

epidemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people

contaminate - v. to make (something) dangerous, dirty, or impure¹² by adding something harmful or undesirable¹³ to it

diarrhea - n. an illness that causes you to pass waste from your body very frequently and in liquid rather than solid form

rehydration - n. the process of returning water to the body

clinic - n. a medical office

1 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

2 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

3 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

4 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。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 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。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

9 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。

10 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

11 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

12 impure   

adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的

参考例句：

• The air of a big city is often impure.大城市的空气往往是污浊的。
• Impure drinking water is a cause of disease.不洁的饮用水是引发疾病的一个原因。

13 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。