DEVELOPMENT REPORT - WHO and Smallpox

DEVELOPMENT REPORT
–
February 4, 2002: WHO and Smallpox¹

By Jill Moss²

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

The World Health Organization has delayed the destruction of the last remaining supply of smallpox virus in the
world. Officials had planned to destroy the virus this year. However, they became concerned after the September
eleventh terrorist³ attacks in the United States. Many people are concerned that extremist groups or governments
may try to use smallpox as a weapon.

The head of the World Health Organization, Gro Harlem Brundtland, strongly urged that supplies of the virus be
saved. She spoke⁴ at a W-H-O meeting of health officials and scientists in Geneva, Switzerland last month. Doctor
Brundtland said that keeping the virus alive will help researchers develop new medicines to prevent and treat the
disease. She said it is impossible to test new drugs if no supplies of the smallpox virus exist.

Two laboratories in the world are currently⁵ carrying out research on smallpox. They
are in Russia and the United States.

In Nineteen-Sixty-Seven, the World Health Organization launched a campaign to end
smallpox around the world. The goal was to give everyone the vaccine⁶ medicne that
prevents the disease. The W-H-O officially declared the world free from smallpox in
Nineteen-Eighty. If the disease became active again, scientists believe it would create
a very dangerous situation.

Smallpox is believed to have started more than three-thousand years ago in India or
Egypt. It is an infectious⁷ disease caused by the variola virus. Approximately thirty
percent of reported cases result in death. The disease is spread by particles from an infected person’s breath.

There is no cure for smallpox. However, the vaccine that prevents it from developing in the body is very
effective. The vaccine must be given within four days of someone breathing in the virus. Some of the side effects
caused by the vaccine can also be harmful. This is why health officials say only those people working with the
virus or others directly at risk should take the vaccine.

The W-H-O has asked for a report in two to three years on progress made in smallpox treatment research.
Officials say the research program should be completed as quickly as possible. Then a new date for the
destruction of the world’s remaining smallpox virus can be set.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.

Smallpox cells
Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version

1 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？

2 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

3 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

6 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。

7 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！