SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - U.S. Doctors Separate Guatemalan Siste

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS -August 20, 2002: U.S. Doctors Separate Guatemalan Sisters Joined at the Heath /
West Nile Virus Spreads in the United States

Broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

This is Ray Freeman.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Bob Doughty¹ with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments
in science. Today, we tell about an operation that separated twin babies joined at the head. And we tell about the
spread of West Nile virus in the United States.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

Earlier this month, doctors in California separated two baby sisters joined at the top of the head. A large
operating team successfully divided the head bones and skin of Maria Teresa (mah-REE-ah teh-RAY-sah) and
Maria de Jesus Quiej-Alvarez (mah-REE-ah deh hay-SOOS key-ek-AHL-veh-rez). The doctors also
disconnected and re-directed some of the girls’blood vessels³.

This operation on the one-year-old twins took twenty-two hours. A few hours later, doctors operated on one of
the babies to stop bleeding on the brain. Doctors performed the operations at the Mattel Children’s Hospital at the
University of California at Los Angeles. The two Marias were born in Belen (beh-LEHN), Guatemala, with their
heads joined at the top. The babies faced opposite directions.

Experts say this condition is extremely rare. Only about one in two-and-one-half-million live births results in
twins being joined at the head. It is one of the rarest examples of conjoined or connected twins. Normal twins
who are exactly alike result when a fertilized⁴ egg separates into two embryos⁵ early in the mother’s pregnancy⁶.
Twins become connected when a fertilized egg fails to completely separate.

VOICE TWO:

At least fifty medical experts took part in the operation on the Guatemalan babies. To separate the sisters’heads,
the doctors had to disconnect blood vessels that the babies shared. However, the twins did not share a major vein⁷
called the sagittal (SAJ-it-al) sinus. This vein passes over the top of the skull⁸ from the front to the back. Then it
divides to take blood back to the heart.

Doctors said the fact that each girl had her own sagittal sinus was very good news. It meant the doctors did not
have to decide which twin would get the vein, or try to build one vein for each child.

The babies did share some bone structure. Each, however, had a separate brain. In the future, the doctors say they
will have to rebuild areas around the girls’brains and skulls⁹. This operation will make their heads appear more
normal.

VOICE ONE:

Doctors were pleased that the girls were moving their hands and feet after the operation. The babies also were
looking around and reacting to their nurses. However, it will not be known for some time if either or both
suffered brain damage.

A group in Spokane, Washington, called Healing the Children, brought the babies and their parents to Los
Angeles for the operation. The girls’parents decided¹⁰ on the operation to separate the twins after being told their


babies might not survive without it.

Most twins connected at the head die. Between forty and fifty cases of twins joined this way have been reported
over the years. Only about fifteen percent lived to age five. Only one set grew up to become adults. Organ failure
usually causes the deaths. The heart and kidneys of one twin carry most of the responsibility for both bodies.
When the organs fail, both twins die.

In the past, about thirty operations were performed to separate twins joined at the head. Most of the babies
suffered brain damage. Half of them died.

VOICE TWO:

Two other conjoined twin girls were separated in an operation in Baltimore, Maryland, in April. These babies
were joined at the chest. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center operated on Loice (low-EES) and
Christine Onziga (kris-TEEN ahn -ZEE-gah). The babies were born in October of last year in Leiko, (LAY-co) a
village in northern Uganda.

The twins shared a liver. First, the doctors separated that organ. Then they temporarily tied off a blood vessel² that
connected the babies’hearts. The doctors were extremely pleased to see that each heart could beat independently.
This permitted them to cut the blood vessel. Each girl was left with a small opening in her heart. Doctors say they
can repair this without further surgery.

The doctors also rebuilt part of the walls of the twins’chests and abdomens¹². And, they rebuilt part of the
muscular tissue that separates the abdomen¹¹ and chest. Loice and Christine now appear to be developing normally.
They are expected to return to Uganda with their parents in October if they continue to do well.

VOICE ONE:

Years ago, connected twins were called “Siamese twins.”This was because the first well known joined twins
were born in Siam, now called Thailand. The twins, Chang and Eng, were born to Chinese parents in eighteen-
eleven. A narrow piece of skin joined their lower chests. Their livers were connected through that skin. Chang
and Eng grew up and married sisters in the eighteen -forties. Over the years, the two became fathers of twenty -one
children. Several times during their lives, Chang and Eng considered separation surgery. But they decided against
it. They died in eighteen-seventy-four.

((MUSIC))

VOICE TWO:

A viral disease is infecting people in many parts of the United States. By the end of
last week, the West Nile virus had killed at least nine people. It has infected more
than one-hundred-sixty people in at least twelve states and the District of Columbia.
The virus has been discovered in at least thirty-eight states in horses, birds or
mosquito insects.

Health officials say West Nile virus is spread by mosquitoes that feed on the blood
of infected birds and then bite people. Recently, the director of the Centers for
Disease Control said Americans will have to deal with the virus for a long time.
Julie Gerberding said the virus is well established among populations of birds and mosquitoes in this country.

However, the time of year of the current outbreak has concerned health officials. Doctor Gerberding noted¹³ that
people developed West Nile virus in August and September in the past. Yet, this current outbreak began in June.
It appears to be getting worse at the time when the disease usually begins.

VOICE ONE:

West Nile virus was first observed in the West Nile area of Uganda in nineteen-thirty-seven. Forms of the virus
have appeared in recent years in widely separated countries. In the nineteen-nineties, the disease was reported in
Algeria, Romania, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia, the United States, France and
Israel.

 


West Nile virus was first reported in the United States in nineteen-ninety-nine. That outbreak in New York City
killed seven people. It also caused more than sixty people to seek treatment in hospitals. The virus has been
spreading to other states since then.

West Nile virus is one of a group of viruses that can cause high body temperature and pain. The viruses can also
affect the senses and balance of a person. It is among a group of organisms called flavi-viruses
(FLAY.vi.vie.rus.es). The disease Japanese encephalitis is similar to West Nile virus.

VOICE TWO:

Only about one in five people who are infected with the virus become sick. Signs of the disease include muscle
aches, pain in areas where bones are joined, high body temperature, headache and tiredness.

West Nile virus can cause serious disease or death among older people and people whose defense¹⁴ system against
disease is weakened. It can cause encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. It can also cause meningitis,
inflammation of tissues around the brain or spinal¹⁵ cord. However, fewer than one percent of people infected with
the virus become seriously sick.

VOICE ONE:

John Barry is a biology researcher. He wrote in the New York Times newspaper that the current outbreak is not
really unusual. He noted that a virus closely related to West Nile virus, called Saint Louis encephalitis, infected
about two-thousand people in nineteen-seventy-five. It then almost disappeared.

Lyle Petersen of the Centers for Disease Control also noted that the hot summer weather may have caused an
increase in the viral infections. Warm temperatures make it possible for mosquitoes to reproduce more
effectively.

Cases of West Nile virus are expected to decrease as autumn comes and temperatures drop. Several experts say it
may take years before they understand the development of the disease in this country.

((THEME))

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Jerilyn Watson and Mario Ritter. It was produced by
George Grow. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice
of America.

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1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

5 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

6 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

7 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

8 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

9 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

12 abdomens   

n.腹（部）( abdomen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The women especially disliked their stomachs or abdomens, hips, thighs and legs. 这些妇女特别不喜欢自己的胃部，腹部，臀部，大腿，腿部。 来自互联网
• They danced not with their legs or arms, but with their entire bodies, undulating their abdomens. 他们跳舞不是用腿和臂，而是用整个身子，腹部一起一伏地扭动着。 来自互联网

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。