VOA慢速英语 韩媒报道MERS已致16人死亡

AS IT IS 2015-06-16 South Korea Reports 16th Death from MERS 韩媒报道MERS已致16人死亡

South Korea has reported its 16th death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome¹ disease, known as MERS. South Korean health officials said on Monday that the number of MERS cases has risen to 150, including the 16 deaths.

Jeong Eun-kyeong is the head of the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She says “there are 150 confirmed patients. One hundred twenty are currently being treated, 14 have been discharged, and 16 have died. Compared to Sunday, there are five new cases, four discharged patients, and two deaths. One hundred three patients are in stable condition, and 17 are unstable².”

All of the infections have taken place in South Korean hospitals or medical centers. Officials say those who have died had other health problems, such as diabetes³.

One of the largest hospitals in South Korea partially⁴ suspended operations Monday after hospital officials confirmed the presence of the virus.

Song Jae-hoon is president of Samsung Hospital. He told reporters on Sunday that the hospital would suspend all non-emergency medical operations and no longer accept new patients.

He said visitors are barred from the hospital. He will decide on June 24th whether to keep the suspension in place. The government announced it would send inspectors⁵ to the hospital to investigate why it failed to control the spread of the virus.

On Saturday, a team of World Health Organization experts said the number of MERS infections was falling across South Korea. But they described the disease outbreak as “large and complex,” and said more cases should be expected.

South Korean officials hope the country’s improved measures will stop the spread of the disease. They say the health crisis could end in 14 days. That is how long it will take for someone who has come in contact with the virus to become infected.

Kwon Jun-Wook is the head of a special MERS task force in the South Korean Ministry⁶ of Health and Welfare. He says his group is watching the 12 hospitals where the virus has been found. He says there is no sign of new infections of people who are not already being quarantined.

About 5,000 South Koreans are thought to have come into contact with infected individuals. They have been forced to live apart from others, and their movements are restricted.

The Reuters news service reported that thousands of South Korean schools reopened on Monday, but hundreds remain closed. The schools had been closed because of concerns about MERS.

The health crisis caused President Park Gyun-hye to postpone⁷ a trip planned for this week to the United States.

Worries about the virus have spread to other parts of Asia. Last week, the government in Hong Kong declared a “red alert,” advising against non-essential travel to South Korea.

MERS was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It can cause pneumonia⁸ and kidney failure. There is no vaccine⁹ or cure for MERS. The World Health Organization says the disease kills about 35 percent of those it infects. The South Korean Health Ministry notes that about 10 percent of those infected with it in South Korea have died.

Words in This Story

discharge(d) – v. to let someone leave a hospital or a prison

stable – adj. in good condition

outbreak – n. a rapid increase in the number of cases of a disease

quarantine – n. the period in which people or animals are kept away from others, usually to prevent a disease from spreading

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

3 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

4 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

5 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

8 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。

9 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。