VOA慢速英语2016--泰国报道第二起MERS病例

AS IT IS 2016-01-29 Thailand Reports Second MERS Case 泰国报道第二起MERS病例

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry¹ says the country has a second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome², or MERS.

A public health official said Sunday that a 71-year-old man from Oman came to a hospital in Bangkok Friday. He had a high body temperature and a cough. He received some treatment in his home country that did not help. Like other travelers from the Middle East, he decided³ to go to Thailand to get medical care.

The man is now at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, near Bangkok. Tests there showed he has the MERS virus.

Officials are closely watching 37 people who came in contact with the man. They include family members who traveled with him, a taxi driver, passengers who sat near him, flight attendants and hospital workers. These people are in quarantine to prevent them from passing the disease to others.

The first case of MERS in Thailand was reported in June 2015. That case was also a man from Oman. He survived the disease. Because of the earlier MERS case, the Thai health ministry says it has improved its methods of finding the virus, monitoring and treating patients.

MERS is the same type of virus as the common cold. It is caused by a coronavirus. MERS is similar to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, another coronavirus.

MERS kills more than 30 percent of the people who are infected with the virus. The main cause of death is respiratory infections. People with MERS have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing. There is no vaccine⁴, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that the National Institutes of Health is looking into developing one.

The Mayo Clinic says treatment includes rest, fluids, pain relievers and oxygen therapy. MERS does not spread easily. It usually only affects people who are in close contact with an infected person.

The first case of MERS in humans was found in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Most of the cases have been in the Middle East.

Words in This Story

cough - n. expelling air from the lungs suddenly with an explosive noise

respiratory – adj. of or relating to breathing or the organs of the body that are used in breathing

quarantine – n. the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

monitor – v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time

coronavirus – n. a type of virus that usually causes mild to moderate upper-respiratory illness

fever – n. a body temperature that is higher than normal (98.5 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius)

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。