VOA标准英语2009-Asian Biotech Companies Respond to H1N1 Flu Chal

From antiviral drugs to face masks, Asia's biotechnology and pharmaceutical¹ companies are helping² the global response to H1N1 flu.
　
A CDC Image of H1N1 influenza³ virus

Hong Kong company Filligent's product seems to come at the right time. After six years of research and development, it began selling the Biofriend face mask two months ago.

Chief Executive Melissa Mowbray-d'Arbela says the company has been swamped with orders from Mexico and elsewhere in the world where the H1N1 swine flu virus has struck.

"We logged over 200 calls per day and its increasing per day," she said. "We got soft orders of $6 million in sales but … our principal focus is to deal with humanitarian⁴ effort, so we are delivering and sending to Mexico as our priority."

As governments around the world activate⁵ their pandemic plans to fight H1N1, companies in Asia such as Filligent are filling the demand for drugs and medical essentials.

Mask allegedly kills bacteria including influenza
　
A poster on flu prevention is displayed at an isolation⁶ room for possible swine flu cases at a hospital in Manila, 04 May 2009

Unlike other masks, Filligent says its mask kills viruses and bacteria, including influenza A, of which swine flu is a new strain, when they touch the mask's surface.

"The influenza A virus seeks and binds⁷ to human cells through sialic acid receptors which are on the outside of human cells," she explained. "What we do is that we fool the virus that it has detected and locked on to the human cell, a sialic acid receptor. We mimic⁸ the sialic acid and we forced the virus into locking into our substrate where it then quickly gets killed."

The idea came after Mowbray-D'Arabela developed pneumonia⁹ in the middle of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome¹⁰ outbreak in Hong Kong in 2003. Many people in Hong Kong wore masks for fear of contracting the disease.

Few people in Hong Kong are using face masks these days, even though the city reported its first swine flu case last week. But in Mexico, where the virus has been found most often, thousands of people are wearing masks.

Chinese company working on vaccine¹¹

Elsewhere in the region, biotech companies are responding to the pandemic threat. The Chinese company Sinovac says it is ready to start working on a vaccine for the swine flu as soon as it receives samples.

Chinese and Indian pharmaceutical companies, which make less expensive generic¹² anti-flu drugs, are also on standby to supply large quantities to governments, particularly in the developing world, that do not have stockpiles of drugs or medical supplies to deal with a flu pandemic.

The Australian company Biota¹³ saw its shares rise almost 80 percent last week in anticipation¹⁴ of a surge in demand for antiviral drugs. Biota licenses¹⁵ the anti-flu drug Relenza to the international pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and collects a fraction from sales.

Mexico is the epicenter of the H1N1 flu outbreak. The virus has since been detected in many areas including the United States, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Switzerland. The death toll¹⁶ outside Mexico has been low, leading some experts to say the virus may be weaker than previously¹⁷ thought.

1 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 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。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

9 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

10 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

11 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。

12 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

13 biota   

n.生物区

参考例句：

• They have had serious effects upon the biota of stream.它们对河流中的生物群体产生严重影响。
• Historical biogeography attempts to reconstruct the biota history of the earth.历史生物地理学重建生物区系历史。

14 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

15 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

16 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。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。