VOA标准英语2012--Poverty Source of Tropical Infections in Texas, Gulf of Mexico

Poverty Source of Tropical Infections in Texas, Gulf¹ of Mexico

 “Chagas is an infectious disease transmitted by the kissing bug². The kissing bug looks a little bit like a cockroach³ but it has the ability to feed on blood and it lives in the very poor quality dwellings,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine in Texas.

He says a serious heart infection caused by the chagas trypanosome parasite⁴ now affects a million people in the United States and more than six million in Mexico.

But he and his colleagues believe that the disease is often overlooked. “It is a disease that could be associated with severe heart disease, often times aneurisms, even electrical disturbances⁵ and sudden death. So that if someone dies from what often times physicians or health care providers in Texas might think is a heart attack - it’s in fact chagas disease,” Hotez explained.

Emerging health problem

Researchers say they are trying to understand the full extent of many of the debilitating⁶ tropical infections in the region. For example, cysticercosis is now one of the major causes of epilepsy in children in Texas and California. The report notes that another tropical disease, dengue fever, is an emerging problem from Texas to Florida.

“It's called bone break fever. It causes severe pain in the joints⁷ and bones and rash - it’s a very severe fever, lasts for seven days and totally lays you out [severely weakens you],” said Dr. Dan Stinchcomb, chief executive officer of Inviragen, which is developing a vaccine⁸ against the multiple dengue viruses. "In order for a vaccine to be safe and effective, it has to be able to induce a neutralizing⁹ antibody response - an antiboyd resp[onsde that will knock out four different viruses simultaneously," he said.

Researchers recommend developing a new generation of diagnostics and drugs to detect and control tropical diseases in the U.S. Dr. Hotez says there is also an urgent need to educate public health workers, cardiologists, and obstetricians about the growing incidence of these neglected infections. 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 cockroach   

n.蟑螂

参考例句：

• A cockroach can live several weeks with its head off.蟑螂在头被切掉后仍能活好几个星期。
• She screamed when she found a cockroach in her bed.她在床上找到一只蟑螂时大声尖叫。

4 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

5 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

6 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

7 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

8 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。

9 neutralizing   

v.使失效( neutralize的现在分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• This juice-about a quart a day--pours into my duodenum, neutralizing acids. 这种消化液（每天约分泌1品脱）流入我的十二指肠，把酸中和了。 来自辞典例句
• AIM: To verify the role of a synthetic peptide in neutralizing endotoxins. 目的：检验一条合成肽在中和内毒素活性方面的作用。 来自互联网