美国首次发现经性接触感染寨卡病毒病例

Person Infected With Zika Virus Through Sexual Contact 美国首次发现经性接触感染寨卡病毒病例

Officials in the southwestern state of Texas have reported what may be the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted in the United States by sexual contact.

On Tuesday, health officials in Dallas County said the person became infected after having sexual contact with a person who had returned from Venezuela. Venezuela is a country where the virus is present.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal U.S. health agency, confirmed the infection in an email to VOA. The CDC wrote that it “confirmed through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental¹ United States.”

On its website, the CDC notes “Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes-species mosquito.” But it says “the spread of the virus through blood transfusion² and sexual contact have been reported.”

Last year, French scientists reported the virus was found in the semen of a patient during the 2013 Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia. This supports the possibility that the virus can be transmitted sexually.

Dr. Tom Frieden is the head of the CDC. He also sent out Tweets to confirm the infection.

Brazil reported the first case of Zika virus in this latest outbreak in May 2015. Since then, the virus has spread by mosquitoes and has caused infections in Brazil, many Latin America countries, and the United States.

With the Summer Olympics taking place later this year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said her government would spend whatever is necessary to kill the kind of mosquitos that carry the virus.

In a speech, she said, “my entire government is working on fighting this emergency. There will be no lack of funding, and I’m certain that I will be able to count on the Congress’ support.”

She said she has spoken with President Barack Obama about the virus. She said Brazil will work with the U.S. government “to establish our capacity and improve it in order to develop as quickly as possible a vaccine³ for the Zika virus.”

On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. It says four million more people could be infected by the end of the year.

The health agency called for more international resources to fight the spread of Zika but ruled out a ban on traveling or trade. And the International Red Cross is calling for $2.3 million in emergency money to fight Zika in Latin America.

Words in This Story

transmit – v. to cause (a virus, disease, etc.) to be given to others

continental – adj. the part of the U.S. that is on the North American continent; the states of the U.S. except for Hawaii

transfusion – n. a medical treatment in which someone's blood is put into the body of another person?

semen –  n. the sticky, whitish liquid containing sperm⁴ that is produced by a male's sex organs?

entire – adj. complete or full; not lacking or leaving out any part

funding – n.  money used for a special purpose?

capacity – n. the ability to do something; a mental, emotional or physical ability

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

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。

4 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。