2006年VOA标准英语-Indonesia Opens Conference Aimed at Halting Bir

By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
21 June 2006

 
Indonesian men play with roosters at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 21, 2006
  
As Indonesia's death toll¹ from avian influenza² climbs, concerns are rising about the country's ability to control the virus. The government has convened³ a meeting of heath experts from around the world to help it fight the disease.

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At least 39 people in Indonesia have died of bird flu since 2003 - 28 of them just this year. With the outbreak continuing, Jakarta has turned to international experts for help.

Indonesia has the second-highest number of human cases, 51 of the H5N1 virus. Only Vietnam, with 93 cases and 42 deaths, has more.

But experts are worried because Vietnam has virtually halted human cases this year, not a single one so far, while in Indonesia, the numbers keep rising.

A three-day meeting that began Wednesday in Jakarta is meant to bolster⁴ the country's efforts to contain the H5N1 virus.

The conference aims to address criticism from international donors⁵ of Indonesia's plans for fighting the disease. The country has appealed to aid organizations and other countries for 900 million dollars to pay for bird vaccines⁶, public education, and mass poultry⁷ culling⁸ programs. The World Bank recently said it needed to see a detailed⁹ plan before it would commit funding.

However, there are some areas where Jakarta is making progress. Paul Gully, a WHO senior adviser¹⁰ at the conference, says Indonesia is providing good surveillance for the disease, and has been able to report outbreaks quickly.

"...There are actions being taken locally in terms of controlling avian influenza poultry, and investigation¹¹ in humans, but I think everyone would agree a lot more needs to be done," he said.

The H5N1 virus spreads mainly in poultry, most human victims got the disease from handling sick birds. Many experts advocate killing¹² all birds exposed to the virus, even those that are still healthy.

But Indonesia has resisted mass culling because of the cost of compensating¹³ the birds' owners, who often depend on their poultry for income or family meals.

Scientists at the Jakarta meeting also will look into possible changes in the virus that would allow it to spread easily from person to person. Experts fear such viral changes could lead to a flu pandemic that could kill millions of people.

Indonesia has seen cases in which the virus may have spread from person to person. The WHO's Gully says, however, it does not appear that the virus has changed significantly.

"If avian influenza continues human cases will continue to occur, and then if the right circumstances exist, then probably human to human cases will again continue to occur," said Gully. "Doesn't necessarily mean that we're in a different pandemic state, or that the virus has changed. It's just a question of if the circumstances are right, then probably it will happen."

The group is scheduled to meet through Friday, and is expected to draft a joint assessment of the country's anti-bird flu measures and a list of recommendations on how the country can strengthen its efforts

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 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。

3 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

4 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 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》

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 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?

8 culling   

n.选择，大批物品中剔出劣质货v.挑选，剔除( cull的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mathematicians turned to culling periodic solutions. 数学家们转而去挑选周期解。 来自辞典例句
• It took us a week to find you, a week of culling out prejudice and hatred. 我们花了一个星期的时间找到你们，把偏见和憎恨剔除出去。 来自演讲部分

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 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。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 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。

13 compensating   

补偿，补助，修正

参考例句：

• I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
• It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。