VOA慢速英语2016 寨卡病毒与出生缺陷的关联

Researchers: Link Between Zika Virus and Birth Defects 寨卡病毒与出生缺陷的关联

Researchers in Slovenia say they have found some evidence of a link between the Zika virus and an increase in some birth defects.

斯洛文尼亚研究人员称发现的证据表明寨卡病毒与一些出生缺陷增加之间存在关联。

They published the study this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Journal also published a report from a group of American health experts that supports the Slovenian research.

他们在《新英格兰医学杂志》上发表了这份研究，该杂志还发表过一篇由一批美国卫生专家撰写的报告，该报告也支持斯洛文尼亚的这份研究。

The researchers studied a woman who was infected with the Zika virus. She had an abortion¹ after an examination showed the fetus² had severe health problems.

研究者调查了一名感染了寨卡病毒的妇女，在检查出胎儿有严重的健康问题后她就堕了胎。

They said the mother and members of her family had not had the health problems found in the fetus. And the researchers believe that neither the woman nor members of her family had been infected with any other viruses that cause health problems in fetuses³.

研究者称这名母亲和她的家人都没有胎儿的这种健康问题，研究者认为这名妇女和她的家人都没有感染过导致胎儿健康问题的其他病毒。

When the researchers examined the aborted⁴ fetus they found the Zika virus. And they found that it had only attacked the brain. They believe this is strong evidence that the virus causes birth defects. But they said more study must be done to confirm their beliefs.

研究者检查被堕胎掉的胎儿时发现了寨卡病毒，而且这种病毒只侵害大脑，他们认为这就有力地说明该病毒导致了出生缺陷，但他们说必须做进一步的研究才能证实这一观点。

People infected with the Zika virus suffer from fever, rash, joint⁵ and muscle pain and red eyes. It is not a severe illness. But because of its possible link to birth defects, experts believe it is a great danger to pregnant women.

寨卡病毒感染者会出现发烧、出疹子、关节和肌肉疼痛及红眼的症状，这种病不严重，但因为它可能会导致出生缺陷，所以专家认为它对孕妇的危害更大。

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus could be linked to 4,000 suspected cases in Brazil of microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with very small heads. It causes severe brain damage.

世卫组织称这种病毒可能与巴西出现的4000个小头症疑似病例有关，有这种病症的新生儿头部特别小，会导致 严重的大脑损伤。

In February, the WHO said the virus is a global health emergency. And it predicted that Zika could infect as many as 4 million people across the Americas this year.

二月份，世卫组织宣布这种病毒为全球卫生紧急状况，并预测寨卡病毒今年会在美国感染到400万人。

The declaration meant more money and other help would be given to fight the virus. But the health agency did not say there should be a ban on travel or trade in areas where the virus is present.

该声明意味着将动用更多的资金等资源来对付这种病毒，但世卫组织并没有表示应该禁止到病毒感染地区旅行或做贸易。

Some health experts say pregnant women, or women trying to get pregnant, should not travel to Brazil. The 2016 Summer Olympics are taking place in the South American country.

一些医疗专家称孕妇和准备怀孕的妇女不应该去巴西旅行，2016夏季奥运会即将在这个南美国家举办。

This week, U.S. public health officials told Congress that workers must kill the mosquitoes that carry the virus if its spread is to be stopped. They said the mosquito that carries the disease lives in parts of the southern United States and on the island of Puerto Rico. They said those areas are at risk of having an outbreak of the virus.

本周，美国公共卫生官员告诉国会，要遏制这种病毒的蔓延，工作人员必须杀灭携带这种病毒的蚊子，他们说传播这种病毒的蚊子生活在美国和波多黎各部分地区，他们称这些地区有爆发寨卡病毒的风险。

No treatment or vaccine⁶ for the Zika virus exists. But drug companies in India, Japan and France are working to develop possible vaccines⁷.

目前没有对付寨卡病毒的疗法或疫苗，但印度、日本和法国一些公司已经在努力开发疫苗。

Words in This Story

infect – v. to cause (someone or something) to become sick or affected⁸ by disease

abortion – n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy⁹ and cause the death of the fetus

outbreak – n. a sudden start or increase of fighting or disease

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

3 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

4 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。