巴西罕见病毒Zika致婴儿小头

Is Zika Virus in Brazil Causing Brain Damage in Babies? 巴西罕见病毒Zika致婴儿小头

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Health officials in Brazil have declared a state of emergency in several states.

They are also warning women to not get pregnant.

These extreme actions are the result of a recent rise in birth defects. About 2,400 babies in Brazil were born recently with extremely small heads.

The babies have a condition called microcephaly. Microcephaly causes severe brain damage. To date, 29 of these babies have died. The number of microcephaly cases in Brazil is about 10 times higher than what the country usually sees in a year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explains on its website that there many causes of microcephaly. And the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement that the cause of the microcephaly outbreak in Brazil had yet to be determined¹.

However, the CDC says the link between a virus infection and microcephaly is being investigated.

The virus is called Zika. Zika is spread by mosquitos. Some babies in Brazil with microcephaly have tested positive for the Zika virus while others have tested negative.

The CDC says that Brazil reported its first case of Zika virus in May 2015. Since then, the virus has spread and has caused infections in many Brazilian states and other countries in Latin America.

According to other news agencies, health officials have reported many cases of microcephaly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Reuters news agency reports that the Zika virus has been confirmed this year in Panama, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, Suriname, Colombia, Guatemala and Paraguay.

Zika is also found in Africa and Southeast Asia.

The CDC has a webpage with information on Zika. It says that because the “mosquitoes that spread Zika virus are found throughout the world, it is likely that outbreaks will spread to new countries.”

Symptoms of Zika

The CDC says the common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, headache, joint² pain and red eyes. Zika causes mostly mild symptoms in adults. However, in newborns the disease can cause severe brain damage.

There is no vaccine³ or medicine to prevent or treat Zika. Travelers and especially pregnant women are advised to protect themselves by avoiding mosquito bites.

Health officials around the world are watching the situation closely.

Words in This Story

microcephaly – n. medical : a condition of abnormal smallness of the head usually associated with mental defects

birth defect – n. medical : a physical or biochemical defect that is present at birth and may be inherited or environmentally induced

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 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。