VOA标准英语2012--Experts Troubled by New Dengue Outbreaks in Western Hemisphere

 

Experts Troubled by New Dengue Outbreaks in Western Hemisphere

“Dengue had been eliminated in this hemisphere for quite a while but unfortunately it got reintroduced and has been generally growing since then," said Donald Shepherd.

Donald Shepherd spoke¹ to VOA via Skype. He and his colleagues studied the economic burden of dengue fever on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico (a U.S. territory). Shepherd says the figure they came up with was staggering.

“The economic cost of dengue averages $40 million per year," he said. "For the moderate size that Puerto Rico is it’s a substantial amount of money.”

Dengue is a viral infection spread by the bite of a small, stripe-bellied mosquito called Aedes aegypti. Outbreaks commonly rise after heavy summer rains, which create stagnant-water breeding areas for the mosquitoes that carry the virus. 

Dengue can cause high fevers, headaches, severe muscle and joint² pain, lack of appetite and fatigue³. And in many parts of Asia and Africa where it is still endemic, the disease can prove fatal:

“A nasty feature of dengue is something that microbiologists call 'antibodies enhancement' - such that if you have had one of the dengue serotypes and then you get another one then the second one is a more severe illness than it would have been the first time," said Shepherd.

Experts say people can usually recover from these severe bouts⁴ of dengue, even with no drugs to fight the virus. But they need to receive good medical care, especially close monitoring of bodily fluids, and proper diagnosis⁵ of dengue's high fever, -- which can be mistakenly blamed on more common causes.

Dr. Dan Stinchcomb is the chief executive officer of Inviragen, which is developing a vaccine⁶ against the multiple dengue viruses. He says developing a safe vaccine has been a significant challenge.

“Because dengue is a problem that affects different ages throughout the world. In Southeast Asia it's mainly a childhood disease, but in Central and South America and other parts of Asia it can still affect adults as well," said Stinchcomb.

Experts say because the cost of treating dengue victims is so high, it's important that affected⁷ countries strengthen their traditional disease surveillance, prevention, and control efforts - until a drug or vaccine is available to combat the virus. 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

4 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

6 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。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。