VOA标准英语2015--Doctors Look to Prevent Another Ebola Epidemic

Doctors Look to Prevent Another Ebola Epidemic¹

Liberians celebrated² the end of the Ebola epidemic after the World Health Organization made it official on May 9. But the focus now is to prevent the next Ebola outbreak from becoming an epidemic.

Dr. David Heymann, who heads Public Health England, said, "This outbreak was different because the initial response was not robust³ enough to stop it while it was still rural or in very small clusters in urban areas."

The WHO and the international community were criticized for being slow to respond, but the WHO lacks the funds to provide the kind of response that was needed.  Even so, the WHO's assistant director-general of health security, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, said his organization put a huge effort into the outbreak from the very beginning.

"There’s been a kind of image that nothing was done in the beginning, when that is very far from the truth," he said. "Lots of people were deployed⁴. Experts were sent out into the field. Communications were raised to high levels to bring notice that we were dealing⁵ with a complex situation."

Medecins Sans Frontieres is one organization that cared for Ebola patients from the start of the outbreak. In March, 2014, MSF warned that the Ebola outbreak was "unprecedented⁶" in its geographic⁷ spread.

Last June, MSF described the outbreak as being "out of control." The organization criticized the initial international response, but Dr. Armand Sprecher of MSF, who specializes in hemorrhagic fevers, said a greater initial response might not have made much difference.  

"I don’t know if getting more people involved early on would have changed things," he said, "because part of the problem was getting the community on board."  

Signs and radio announcements told people how to stop the infection from spreading. But it was hard to get people to stop touching⁸ the bodies of loved ones who had died of Ebola.

In a war-torn, impoverished⁹ country, health care suffers, which is one reason why Ebola exploded in West Africa, Dr. Peter Hotez told VOA.  

"One of the reasons why we're seeing such lethal¹⁰ epidemics¹¹," he said, "is that they are occurring in countries that have incurred¹² decades of civil war and have had total breakdown¹³ of public health infrastructures¹⁴."

Hotez, who heads the National School of Tropical Medicine, said he is keeping an eye on the Middle East because he expects contagious¹⁵ diseases to re-emerge with a vengeance¹⁶ there, especially in Iraq and Syria because of war and lack of basic health care.

Meanwhile, in Liberia, children are once again getting vaccinated¹⁷ in an effort to prevent other epidemics. And health officials are hoping Ebola doesn't again cross the border from Guinea, as it did at the beginning of the outbreak last year.

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

11 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

12 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

13 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

14 infrastructures   

n.基础设施( infrastructure的名词复数 )；基础结构；行政机构；秘密机构

参考例句：

• Public transportation termini and depots are important infrastructures for a city. 公交场站设施是城市重要的基础设施。 来自互联网
• The increasingly fast urbanization process requires more and more infrastructures. 我国城市化进程不断加快，对城市基础设施的需求也越来越大。 来自互联网

15 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

16 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

17 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？