2006年VOA标准英语-Bird Flu Experts Push for Early Detection,

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
12 January 2006

Experts at an international conference on avian influenza¹ are being told their governments must do more to ensure early detection of the virus if a global human pandemic is to be contained. The warning has been given added urgency by confirmation² this week of human bird flu deaths in Turkey, the first from the H5N1 virus to occur outside East Asia.

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Some 130 delegates from 21 countries and organizations meeting here heard that the 17 days it takes on average for bird flu cases to be confirmed is too long to ensure containment³ of the disease.

Members of the World Health Organization's bird flu task force told the experts that early detection of widespread bird deaths, especially in rural areas, is the key to limiting a human pandemic.

The warnings came at the start of a two-day meeting on how to contain a pandemic should the H5N1 virus mutate into a form that can pass easily between humans.

Hitoshi Oshitani  
  
Hitoshi Oshitani, a regional adviser⁴ to WHO on communicable disease surveillance and response, told reporters that rapid-response plans are needed.

"At the moment, most of the countries do not include such a plan in their fundamental preparedness plans. We discussed this issue this afternoon, and some countries raised this issue, and they are keen to include such a plan in their pandemic preparedness plans," he said.

 
Dr. Keiji Fukuda 
  
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, of the WHO's Global Influenza Program in Geneva, says another human viral pandemic, like those that struck in the early and middle years of the last century, is inevitable⁵ even if it does not result from the H5 strains of avian influenza.

"We expect that a pandemic will occur sometime in the future. It may be from H5, it may be from another virus. So all of these activities to prepare are not just for H5, they are really to prepare for the possibility of any virus causing a pandemic," he added.

In East Asia, at least 76 people have died from the virus since 2003. Three deaths have been confirmed in Turkey.

The WHO bird flu experts say more must be done to convince rural populations of the risk of close contact with poultry⁶. Many farmers are hesitant to alert officials about sick birds because they are not compensated⁷ if their poultry is ordered destroyed. The experts said farmers must realize that if their birds become sick, they should not think of immediately killing⁸ and eating them.

Many people in Southeast Asia raise chickens in or near their homes. Noting that fact, Thailand's deputy health secretary, Narongsakdi Aungkasuvapala, said that the most important challenge facing his country is improving ways to detect the disease.

More funding to combat the threat is expected to be pledged next week at a meeting of donors⁹ in Beijing.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

3 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

7 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》