VOA慢速英语2010-Health Report - Hospital Infections in US

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Hospitals not only treat infections -- they can also cause them.

In the United States alone, the number of infections in hospitals is estimated at close to two million each year. About one hundred thousand patients die.

A new government report notes that very little progress has been made in reducing what are called health care-associated infections. The most common are infections of the urinary tract¹, surgical² site and bloodstream.

Many infections have been increasing even as hospitals have made efforts to improve. The report shows, for example, an eight percent increase in cases of sepsis, or bloodstream infection, following operations.

About forty percent of all health care-associated infections are linked to the use of catheters. A tube is placed inside the body to collect urine, so the patient does not have to get out of bed.

But the latest report says urinary tract infections after surgery increased more than three and a half percent. It says catheters should be used only if necessary.

Another way to prevent infections is to give patients antibiotics⁴ before surgery. Doctors are advised to give them within the hour before the operation. Patients who get antibiotics earlier than one hour are more likely to get an infected surgical wound.

There are different measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of infections after surgery

Also, doctors are advised to discontinue the antibiotics within twenty-four hours after the surgery. The report says longer than that is usually not necessary. It can increase the risk of antibiotic³ resistance and serious kinds of diarrhea.

Not all the news was bad. The report said the rate of pneumonia⁵ in adults after surgery decreased more than eleven and a half percent.

A separate report looked at the differences last year in health care for different groups in society.

Kathleen Sebelius is secretary of health and human services. Her department produced the two thousand nine National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report. She noted⁶ that racial and ethnic⁷ minorities were less likely to have insurance and less likely to get the treatments they needed. She called the numbers "troubling."

But she also said the health care reforms passed by Congress will improve the quality of care for all Americans. She said the new law will reward quality over quantity of care, creating a system that prevents diseases before more costly⁸ treatment is required.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver⁹. Transcripts¹⁰, MP3s and more are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

2 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

3 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

4 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

5 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

6 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。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 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。

10 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句