U.S. health officials are expressing cautious optimism the virus causing swine flu A-H1N1 may not be as virulent as initially feared, but they say aggressive steps to combat the infectious disease are still warranted.
美国卫生官员说，甲型1H1N1流感的毒性可能并不像最初担心的那样大，他们对此表达了谨慎的乐观。但是官员们说，采取主动步骤抗击流感疫情仍然是值得的。
Days after Mexico suspended public activities to reduce the spread of swine flu, the country is reporting a leveling off in the rate of new infections. In the United States, the number of confirmed influenza cases continues to rise, but most flu sufferers report relatively mild symptoms, and only one death has been recorded.
墨西哥停止公众活动几天以来减少了甲型H1N1流感的传播，当局报告的新感染病例开始出现缓解。在美国新确诊的这种流感的病例继续上升，但是报导中多数感染者的症状相对较轻，并且只有一个死亡病例。
This is welcome news for U.S. health officials, who initially had to consider the possibility that the new flu strain's impact could mirror the devastation of the 1918 influenza pandemic that led to tens of millions of deaths worldwide.
这对美国卫生官员来说是一个值得欢迎的消息，最初，这些官员以为这种新型流感病毒带来的冲击可能严重得要和1918年流感疫情相比拟。那次遍及世界范围的流感疫情造成数千万人死亡。
The acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Richard Besser, spoke on ABC's "This Week" program.
美国疾病控制与预防中心的执行主任理查德.贝塞尔在美国广播公司的“本周” 新闻专访节目上说：
"What we have found is that we are not seeing the factors that were associated with the 1918 pandemic. We are not seeing the factors that were associated with other H1N1 viruses," Besser said.
“ 我们发现，我们并没有看到和1918年流感疫情相关的因素。我们没有看到和其他H1N1型流感病毒有关的因素。”
But, he adds, "I do not think it is time to let our guard down. I think we have to continue in an uncertain situation to be aggressive."
不过,贝塞尔也做了这样谨慎的补充。他说：“我并不认为现在就是放松警惕的时候了，我认为，在局势不明的情况下，我们必须继续采取主动防范的手段。”
U.S. officials worry that, even if the virus' spread is eventually contained, it could re-emerge months from now during the northern hemisphere's winter flu season, when more than 30,000 Americans die each year from common influenza.
美国官员担心，即使这种病毒的传播最终得到控制，今后几个月，到了北半球冬季流感季节来临的时候，这种病毒会再次出现。冬季普通流感每年都会造成超过3万美国人死亡。
The Obama administration says it is laying the groundwork to develop a vaccine against swine flu, although no decision has been made on large-scale production of such a vaccine. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also appeared on "This Week".
奥巴马政府说，他们已经为研制一种预防甲型H1N1流感疫苗奠定了基础，尽管还没有最后决定是否要大规模生产这种疫苗。卫生与公共服务部部长凯瑟琳.西贝利厄斯女士也在本周节目中露面。
"We can accelerate the seasonal flu vaccine, which we are doing right now to be prepared for what we know will hit this fall and winter. At the same time, we are in the stages of growing the [swine flu] virus, testing it, and we can be ready to do both [vaccines] simultaneously," Sebelius said.
她说：“ 我们可以加速生产这种季节性流感疫苗，这是我们正在开展的，以便准备应付我们知道今年秋冬季还会爆发的疫情。与此同时，我们正在培养、测试这些病毒的阶段中，我们能同时应付这两种不同流感的发生。”
In the meantime, the Obama administration is urging common-sense steps to prevent the spread of swine flu, including frequent hand-washing and asking flu sufferers to stay at home.
与此同时，奥巴马政府还鼓励采取常识性步骤来防止甲型H1N1流感的传播，包括经常洗手，让流感患者待在家里等。
Some critics have accused the administration of overstating the dangers of swine flu and unnecessarily alarming the public. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano dismisses the charge.
一些批评人士指责行政当局夸大这种流感的危险程度，没有必要让公众受到惊吓。国土安全部长纳波利塔诺反驳了这些指控。
"We had a new strain of flu. We did not really know that its lethality was going to be. We did not know how quickly it was going to move. Once you get behind [the spread of] flu, you cannot catch up. You have to get ahead of it," said Napolitano.
她说：“我们遇到了新的流感病毒。我们当时并不真正了解这种病毒的毒性有多大。我们并不知道它传播的速度有多快。一旦你无法控制病情的传播，就没有办法补救了。所以必须走在疫情传播之前。”
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Napolitano again defended the administration's decision against closing the U.S. border with Mexico, saying it would incur massive economic costs with no meaningful health benefits, since swine flu is already spreading in the United States.
在福克斯的电视节目中接受采访的纳波利塔诺部长再次为行政当局反对关闭美国和墨西哥相邻的边境的决定作了辩护，她说，关闭边境会导致经济蒙受重大损失，而且得不到实质上的好处，因为这种流感当时已经在美国境内传播了。 |