DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Polio Vaccine 50th Anniversary

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Polio Vaccine¹ 50th Anniversary
By Karen Legget and Jill Moss²

Broadcast: Monday, May 03, 2004

This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

Fifty years ago, no one knew how to stop polio. Polio is a disease of the muscles and the nervous system. Victims lose the ability to move their arms or legs, and often the ability to breathe.

Then a scientist named Jonas Salk developed an experimental vaccine to prevent it. The organization March of Dimes³ launched a test.

The first vaccines⁴ were given on April twenty-sixth, nineteen-fifty-four. About four-thousand students were the first to receive the injections. They attended Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia.

The test was called "the shot felt around the world." About two-million children were vaccinated⁶ in one year. Those who received the series of three injections became known as the "Polio Pioneers."

 
Boy receives OPV medication
Today, a form of vaccine taken by mouth is used to fight polio. This vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin. Polio is almost gone from the world. The World Health Organization wants to declare an end to polio by next year. But this goal may be at risk.

Recently, in southern Africa, Botswana reported its first case of polio in more than ten years. Health officials say the virus found in a child probably came from Nigeria. One state in Nigeria is not ready to vaccinate⁵ its children.

Islamic leaders in Kano say the vaccine is not safe. Some opponents have said the vaccines are part of a Western plot to harm Muslims. Kano officials have said they are waiting for supplies of vaccine from Muslim countries in Asia.

There have been several new cases of polio in Kano since January. Health officials believe most other new cases of polio in Nigeria spread from Kano. And the disease has spread to other African countries where there had been no polio for years.

Polio is still a problem also in India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt. India's national immunization days have reduced new cases to only eight reported so far this year. There were one-thousand cases two years ago.

In Nigeria, Muslim leaders, government officials, doctors and others met recently to discuss the concerns in Kano. People at the meeting said they agreed that Islam supports vaccinations⁷ against disease. Kano leaders urged the government to do more to fight all diseases that kill children, not only polio.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Karen Leggett and Jill Moss. This is Robert Cohen.

1 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。

2 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。

3 dimes   

n.（美国、加拿大的）10分铸币( dime的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters are United States coins. 1分铜币、5分镍币、1角银币和2角5分银币是美国硬币。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In 1965 the mint stopped putting silver in dimes. 1965年，铸币厂停止向10分硬币中加入银的成分。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

6 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？

7 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》