VOA标准英语10月-UN Urges Governments to Prepare for Possible Infl

A senior U.N. health official warns that governments must better prepare themselves to fight an influenza¹ pandemic should one break out. Citing a new World Bank report that says the economic price tag of an influenza outbreak could top $3 trillion, David Nabarro says international cooperation is vital. From United Nation's headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.
　

Avian influenza H5N1 viruses released from infected human cell

Five years ago avian flu began spreading across Asia, Europe and Africa killing² poultry³, wild birds and then humans. Since then, the U.N. says there have been some 245 human deaths in 15 countries.

U.N. Influenza Coordinator⁴ Doctor David Nabarro warns that while many governments have plans in place to fight an influenza outbreak, such as bird flu, they have not been thoroughly⁵ tested and could fail when an outbreak actually starts.

He said that while the threat of an avian flu pandemic has decreased, the danger posed by other influenza viruses has not.

"The threat of influenza pandemic is still as it was three or four years ago," said David Nabarro. "And this is because although we are very concentrating on one particular bird flu virus that we worry may be the cause of the next influenza pandemic, the fact is unfortunately, any influenza virus could cause a pandemic and we just cannot say for certain when the next pandemic will come, where it will start, or even how severe it will be."
　

Dr. David Nabarro (file photo)

Nabarro said the statistics show bird flu to be a much milder threat now than it was just three years ago.

"When we look at the situation now compared with then, we see that the number of countries that have been newly infected is greatly reduced, the number of outbreaks that occur is greatly reduced, and the overall situation - with the exception of a small number of countries - is much lighter⁶ than it was in 2005," he said.

Nabarro said the avian flu virus is still entrenched⁷ in two countries - Indonesia and Egypt - and it continues to resurface periodically in Pakistan, parts of China, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and South Korea. He also expressed some concern about Nigeria, which recently announced its first bird flu outbreak in nearly 10 months, and Togo, which has also had a recent outbreak.

On Saturday, Egypt is convening⁸ an international meeting on both avian and human influenza. The conference is intended to review pandemic preparedness and assess what more needs to be done to improve an international response.

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 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。

3 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?

4 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

5 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

8 convening   

召开( convene的现在分词 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 民10:7但招聚会众的时候、们要吹号、不要吹出大声。
• We warmly welcome the convening of Asia-Europe meeting in London. 热烈欢迎亚欧会议在伦敦召开。