美国国家公共电台 NPR Lyme Disease Is On The Rise Again. Here's How To Prevent It

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It is tick season, and with it comes the risk of Lyme disease. Once found mainly in New England, Lyme disease is now being reported in a much wider range of the U.S. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports that cases have more than doubled over the last decade. Now there's an estimated 300,000 sicknesses a year.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE¹: Lyme disease was once unheard of in Western Pennsylvania, where Barbara Thorne spent time as a kid, so she was completely surprised by what happened to her after a July Fourth visit there a few years back.

BARBARA THORNE: About eight to nine days after that Fourth of July weekend, I noticed a roundish, red rash on my back just above my waistline. And it expanded each day, so it made me suspicious. And I was also feeling sick with exhaustion² and achiness.

AUBREY: Her primary care doctor diagnosed her with Lyme disease, prescribed her antibiotics³, and she did get better. Now, Thorne is an entomologist by training, so she knows she must have been bitten by a blacklegged tick. When these ticks are infected with the bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, they can transmit Lyme to people. And what she realizes now is that she'd been in a new Lyme hot spot.

THORNE: Lyme disease is on the move. Its range continues to expand fairly quickly, so we all need to be aware.

AUBREY: The CDC estimates the number of infections each year is 10 times higher than the reported cases. One reason is that some people who get infected don't know it. The nymphs, or the young ticks that transmit most of the infections, are teeny-tiny - no bigger than a pinhead or poppy seed - and nearly weightless, so it's super easy to miss a tick bite. And symptoms of Lyme overlap⁴ with other common illnesses. Paul Fiedler is a physician and chair of the department of pathology at Western Connecticut Health Network. He says even when people do suspect Lyme, there are shortcomings in the way it's diagnosed.

PAUL FIEDLER: Many of the tests for Lyme disease are negative at the time the patients first visit their doctor.

AUBREY: He says blood tests to detect Lyme disease rely on a person's immune response. The tests detect Lyme-specific antibodies. When someone gets infected with bacteria, it takes time - sometimes 10 to 30 days - to mount a measurable response. So if they get tested too soon...

FIEDLER: The tests will be negative, and the diagnosis⁵ could be missed.

AUBREY: ...Which could lead to serious problems. When Lyme is left untreated, the infection can spread to joints⁶, the heart and the nervous system. Entomologist Barbara Thorne says it is possible to prevent Lyme disease if you're meticulous⁷. Ticks tend to hang out in the grass or brush in or near wooded areas. So when you're outside, wear long sleeves and light-colored clothing. Insect repellent can help, too, but Thorne says the best thing to do is a thorough tick check.

THORNE: The ticks do tend to climb upward. They climb up your legs. They often attach where there was a constriction⁸ of clothing, like around the waistline.

AUBREY: Other favorite hiding spots include armpits or behind the ears. Now, if you do find one, use a pair of tweezers⁹ to pull it out. And don't freak out if it's been there for a few hours. The CDC says, in general, ticks need to be attached for 36 to 48 hours before they can transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

3 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

4 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

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 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。

7 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

8 constriction   

压缩； 紧压的感觉； 束紧； 压缩物

参考例句：

• She feels a constriction in the chest. 她胸部有压迫感。
• If you strain to run fast, you start coughing and feel a constriction in the chest. 还是别跑紧了，一咬牙就咳嗽，心口窝辣蒿蒿的！ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

9 tweezers   

n.镊子

参考例句：

• We simply removed from the cracked endocarp with sterile tweezers.我们简单地用消过毒的镊子从裂开的内果皮中取出种子。
• Bee stings should be removed with tweezers.蜜蜂的螫刺应该用小镊子拔出来。