2016年经济学人 疫苗 及时一针

 

International Vaccination¹ A jab in time

国际 疫苗—及时一针

Some Western countries have lower vaccination rates than poor parts of Africa. Anti-vaxxers are not the main culprits

与非洲贫困地区相比，部分西方国家的疫苗接种率更低。反疫苗者并非罪魁祸首。

ERADICATING² a disease is the sort of aim that rich countries come up with, and poor ones struggle to reach. But for some diseases, the pattern is reversed. These are the ailments³ for which vaccinations⁴ exist. Many poor countries run highly effective vaccination programmes. But as memories of the toll⁵ from infectious diseases fades across the rich world, in some places they are making a comeback.

消灭疾病是发达国家提出的目标，落后的国家则要很努力才能实现这一目标。但对于一些需要接种疫苗而疫苗存在安全隐患的疾病来说，上述模式正好相反。许多落后国家实施高效疫苗接种方案。传染病致死的记忆虽然离富裕国家逐渐远去，但在世界的某些角落，这些传染病正卷土重来。

The World Health Organisation⁶ (WHO) reckons that vaccines⁷ save 2.5m lives a year. Smallpox⁹ was eradicated¹⁰ in 1980 with the help of a vaccine⁸; polio should soon follow. In both cases, rich countries led the way. The new pattern looks very different.

据世界卫生组织估计，疫苗每年能挽救约250万人的生命。在疫苗的作用下，1980年，天花得以消灭；不久小儿麻痹症也会被根除。上述两个案例中，发达国家起了示范作用。然而，新的情况看起来与此不同。

The trend is most evident for measles¹², which is highly contagious¹³. At least 95% of people must be vaccinated¹⁵ to stop its spread (a threshold known as “herd¹⁶ immunity¹⁷”). Although usually mild, it can lead to pneumonia¹⁸ and cause brain damage or blindness. The countries with the lowest vaccination rates are all very poor, but many developing countries run excellent programmes (see chart). Eritrea, Rwanda and Sri Lanka manage to vaccinate¹⁴ nearly everyone. By contrast several rich countries, including America, Britain, France and Italy, are below herd immunity.

这种新趋势在传染性极高的麻疹中体现最为明显。为阻止它的传播，至少95%的人必须接种麻疹疫苗(95%为群体免疫力的一个已知阈值)。尽管疫苗通常是温和的，但它仍可能导致肺炎、脑损伤和失明等后遗症。疫苗接种率最低的国家都很贫穷，但是许多发展中国家却实施良好的疫苗接种方案（见下图）。其中，厄立特里亚国，卢旺达和斯里兰卡设法让每个人接种疫苗。与之相对的是，包括美国、英国、法国、意大利在内的发达国家低于群体免疫力的阈值。

Last year Europe missed the deadline it had set itself in 2010 to eradicate¹¹ measles, and had almost 4,000 cases. America was declared measles-free in 2000; in 2014 it had hundreds of cases across 27 states and last year saw its first death from the disease in more than a decade. The trends for other vaccine-preventable diseases, such as rubella, which can cause congenital disabilities if a pregnant woman catches it, are alarming, too.

2015年，欧洲不仅没有实现自己制定的在2010年消灭麻疹这一目标，相反还出现了近4000例麻疹病例。2000年，美国宣布根除麻疹；直到2014年，全美27个州仍然有数以百计的麻疹病例涌现，且2015年出现了近十年来首例麻疹死亡事件。其它一些可通过注射疫苗预防的疾病的趋势令人惊恐，例如风疹（若孕妇患上风疹，可导致新生儿患先天性疾病）等。

This sorry state of affairs is often blamed on hardline “anti-vaxxers”, parents who refuse all vaccines for their children. They are a motley lot. The Amish in America spurn¹⁹ modern medicine, along with almost everything else invented since the 17th century. Some vegans object to the use of animal-derived products in vaccines'manufacture. The Protestant Dutch Reformed Church thinks vaccines thwart²⁰ divine will. Anthroposophy, founded in the 19th century by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian mystic-cum-philosopher, preaches that diseases strengthen children’s physical and mental development.

人们通常将这一窘境归咎于强硬的“反疫苗者”，即拒不让孩子接种任何疫苗的家长，例如，美国的蒙诺教派排斥现代医学，以及几乎自17世纪以来的所有发明物；部分素食主义者反对疫苗制作中使用动物制品；新教荷兰归正教会则认为疫苗阻止了神的旨意；奥地利神秘主义者兼哲学家鲁道夫·斯坦纳于19世纪提出了人智说，鼓吹疾病可以促进孩子的身体及智力发育。

In most countries such refuseniks are only 2-3% of parents. But because they tend to live in clusters, they can be the source of outbreaks. A bigger problem, though, is the growing number of parents who delay vaccination, or pick and choose jabs. Studies from America, Australia and Europe suggest that about a quarter of parents fall into this group, generally because they think that the standard vaccination schedule, which protects against around a dozen diseases, “overloads” children’s immune systems, or that particular vaccines are unsafe. Some believe vaccines interfere²¹ with “natural immunity”. Many were shaken by a claim, later debunked²², that there was a link between autism and the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps²³ and rubella.

在大多数国家，仅有2%-3%的家长是上述提及的反疫苗者。然而，因为他们大多为群居生活，这可能使得他们成为疾病爆发的源头。一个更大的问题是，越来越多的父母推迟接种或者选择性接种疫苗。来自美国，澳大利亚和欧洲的研究结果表明，约四分之一的父母已经加入这个阵营，通常是由于他们认为接种疫苗的安排（为了防止十几种疾病而不断的注射疫苗）会导致孩子的免疫系统“超负荷”，或者一些特殊疫苗不够安全。一些人认为疫苗干预了“自然免疫力”。许多人曾被一个说法所动摇，该说法声称麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹三联疫苗（MMR疫苗）会导致自闭症——这一说法后遭拆穿。

In America, some poor children miss out on vaccines despite a federal programme to provide the jabs free, since they have no regular relationship with a family doctor. Some outbreaks in eastern Europe have started in communities of Roma (gypsies). Members of this poor and ostracised minority are shunned²⁴ by health workers and often go unvaccinated.

在美国，尽管联邦政府提供免费接种疫苗，一些贫穷的孩子还是没能及时注射，因为他们难以跟家庭医生保持定期联系。东欧的某些疾病爆发于罗马（吉普赛人）的社区，这些贫穷、被放逐的少数民族得不到医务人员的关注，他们通常没有接种疫苗。

1 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

2 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。

3 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

4 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

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 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

10 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

11 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

12 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

13 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。

14 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

15 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？

16 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

17 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

18 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。

19 spurn   

v.拒绝，摈弃；n.轻视的拒绝；踢开

参考例句：

• They spurn all our offers of help.他们拒绝接受我们提出的一切援助。
• As an armyman,I spurn fearlessly at all danger and the enemy.作为一个军人，一切危险和敌人丝毫不在我的眼。

20 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

21 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

22 debunked   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His theories have been debunked by recent research. 最近的研究揭穿了他的理论的真相。
• Some advertising slogans should be debunked. 某些夸大的广告用语应予揭露。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 mumps   

n.腮腺炎

参考例句：

• Sarah got mumps from her brother.萨拉的弟弟患腮腺炎，传染给她了。
• I was told not go near Charles. He is sickening for mumps.别人告诉我不要走近查尔斯， 他染上了流行性腮腺炎。

24 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》