VOA慢速英语2009-Health Report - Scientists Take Step in Search o

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Evidence is increasing that common influenza¹ viruses are becoming resistant² to the main drug used to treat them. The drug is oseltamivir, also known as Tamiflu.

The most common seasonal³ flu virus found in the United States this year is type A(H1N1). During the last flu season, twelve percent of H1N1 viruses tested in the United States were resistant to Tamiflu. This year, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say resistance is close to one hundred percent. Still, they say early reports show that flu activity has been low so far this year.

The research team is reporting its findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Alicia Fry led the team. Doctor Fry says it is better to prevent the flu than to have to treat it. And the best form of prevention, she says, is getting vaccinated⁴ each year against influenza.
　
Sergio Molina receives a flu shot at a drive-through clinic in Nampa, Idaho

Viruses change, or mutate, so flu vaccines⁶ must be reformulated each year to target the most common threats.

But last week, two teams working independently reported a discovery that could help lead to a universal flu vaccine⁵. The hope is to develop a vaccine that could give lifelong protection against a majority of flu viruses, including bird flu.

The scientists identified a protein that inactivates⁷ the flu virus before it can mutate.

One team used an antibody found in blood donated by an individual. Scientist Ian Wilson at the Scripps Research Institute in California says the antibodies proved highly effective in laboratory mice exposed to deadly levels of virus. He says they gave complete protection if administered immediately and up to fifty percent protection if administered up to five days later.

The researchers say many, if not all, people likely have these antibodies but do not always produce or use them efficiently⁸.

The study is in the journal Science.

The findings appeared just days after another team reported its findings in the journal Nature Structural⁹ and Molecular¹⁰ Biology. That team used almost the same methods but worked with engineered antibodies.

Wayne Marasco of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Massachusetts was the lead author of that study. He says identifying human antibodies that will stop the ability of the virus to reinvent itself is the first step. Next comes using them to develop drugs to fight and treat influenza. And that, he says, could require at least three more years of research to reach the point of testing in people.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver¹¹. I’m Mario Ritter.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

3 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

4 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

5 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。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 inactivates   

v.使不活泼，阻止活动（inactivate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Formaldehyde slowly inactivates many viruses. 甲醛能慢慢使多种病毒失去活性。 来自辞典例句
• Moist heat treatment inactivates the antinutritional factors present. 温热处理可以抑制抗营养的因素出现。 来自辞典例句

8 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

9 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

11 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。