The World Health Organization (WHO) warns hundreds of thousands of victims of Burma's devastating Cyclone Nargis face a potentially serious health crisis. WHO and partner agencies are launching a multi-million-dollar, six-month action plan to provide immediate health care and to support longer-term efforts to rebuild the country's ravaged healthcare system. Official figures stand at nearly 78,000 dead and 56,000 missing from the storm. Unofficial estimates of the number of dead and missing are considerably higher.
世界卫生组织警告说，遭受纳尔吉斯强热带风暴袭击的成千上万缅甸灾民面临严重的健康危机。世卫组织及其夥伴机构正在执行一项耗资上千万美元、历时六个月的行动计划，立即提供医疗保健援助，并且支持重建受到严重破坏的缅甸医疗保健系统的长期努力。官方统计数据仍然说，风灾中有7万8000人死亡、5万6000人失踪，但是非官方统计的死亡和失踪人数要高得多。
About 2.5 million people were affected by Cyclone Nargis.
约有250万缅甸人受到纳尔吉斯热带风暴的波及。
Several-hundred-thousand people are believed to be without shelter and safe drinking water. And, that is a situation of great concern for the World Health Organization.
据信，成千上万缅甸人现在没有住所和干净的饮用水，世卫组织对此深感忧虑。
Assistant director-general of WHO's Health Action in Crises, Dr. Eric Laroche, says aid agencies will not know the full extent of the emergency until health workers have been able to assess the situation in hitherto inaccessible areas.
世卫组织负责危机医疗行动的助理总干事拉罗什说，在医疗工作者对迄今为止还无法进入的灾区作出形势评估之后，救援机构才能充分了解紧急状况的程度。
But he says it is clear that one of the major threats will be from communicable diseases, such as diarrhea, pneumonia, tetanus, measles and cholera. He says people also are at risk from malaria and dengue fever, which spreads widely during the rainy season.
但是他说，很明显，主要威胁之一是传染病，比如腹泻、肺炎、破伤风、麻疹和霍乱。他说，人们还有可能患上在雨季广泛传播的疟疾和登戈热。
"If we are not capable of identifying immediately where the first cases may be, it may mean the start of an epidemic. Then we are going to be in big trouble. Why? Because everything has to be in place, treatment has to be in place, and we have to have access," he said.
他说：“如果我们不能立即确定第一批病例发生的地点就可能意味着一场传染病开始爆发，那我们的麻烦可就大了。为什么呢？因为一切都必须各就各位，医疗救助必须到位，而且我们必须能够获得医疗救助。”
Dr. Laroche says at least $28 million will be needed to carry out the action plan during the next six months. Under the plan, he says health workers will assess and monitor health needs and strengthen disease surveillance, and respond to outbreaks and other health threats.
拉罗什博士说，在接下来的六个月里执行这项行动计划至少需要2千800万美元。他说，根据这项计划，卫生工作人员将评估和监督卫生状况，加强疾病监督，对疾病的爆发和其它健康威胁做出反应。
He says the cyclone destroyed about 50 percent of the healthcare system in the affected region. He says the plan includes provisions for rebuilding facilities that can withstand any future natural disasters.
他说，这场强热带风暴摧毁了受灾地区大约50%的保健系统。他说，这项计划包括为重建今后能够抵抗任何自然灾害的医疗设施提供援助的条款。
Dr. Laroche says it is critical that hungry people get the food they need to remain strong. He warns people who do not have access to food and become malnourished will become too weak to fight off infections.
拉罗什博士说，让饥饿的人获得体力所需的食品非常重要。他警告说，没有食品和营养不良的人会营养不良，身体会非常虚弱，无法抵御传染疾病。 |