VOA健康报道2024--Mpox Cases in DRC Might Be Decreasing

 

Some health officials say mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo appear to be "stabilizing¹." The observation is a possible sign that the epidemic² might be declining.

Mpox is also known as monkeypox. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the viral disease was first identified by scientists in 1958 when outbreaks of a "pox-like" disease appeared in monkeys. Until recently, most human cases involved people in central and West Africa who had contact with infected animals.

Last August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox in Africa a "public health emergency of international concern."

In recent weeks, the WHO says the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, has reported about 200 to 300 confirmed mpox cases every week. That number is down from nearly 400 cases a week in July. A decrease has also been reported in Kamituga, where the new, more infectious variant³ of mpox first appeared.

But the U.N. health agency said last week that only about half of suspected infections in the DRC were being tested. And the agency noted⁴ that the virus is continuing to spread in some parts of the country and elsewhere, including Uganda.

While doctors are hopeful about the drop in infections in some parts of the DRC, they still do not know what kinds of physical contact are driving the outbreak. Health experts are also concerned about the low number of vaccines⁶ the Central African nation has received. The WHO estimates that only 50,000 people have been vaccinated⁸ in the DRC, which has a population of about 110 million.

Scientists also say there needs to be an urgent effort to vaccinate⁷ all of Africa to halt mpox's spread and avoid worse variants⁹.

"If we miss this opportunity, the likelihood of another significant outbreak increases substantially," said Dr. Zakary Rhissa, who heads operations in the DRC for the nonprofit group ALIMA.

This year, there have been 43,000 suspected cases in Africa and more than 1,000 people have died, mostly in the DRC.

Rhissa added, "We've seen how past outbreaks, such as the one in Nigeria in 2017, can lead to larger global events if not effectively contained." The 2017 mpox epidemic affected¹⁰ more than 100 countries.

Rhissa said the decline in cases in Kamituga - where mpox initially¹¹ spread among sex workers and miners - is an opening to put more programs in place for vaccination¹², surveillance and education.

Georgette Hamuli is an 18-year-old sex worker. Hamuli said she did not know about mpox until vaccination teams arrived in Goma recently. "The vaccine⁵ is also necessary," she said. "I think we're now protected."

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated the DRC needs at least 3 million mpox vaccines to stop the virus, and another 7 million for the rest of Africa. So far, the WHO and partners have provided 900,000 vaccines to nine African countries affected by mpox and expect 6 million vaccines to be available by the end of this year.

Mpox epidemics¹³ in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda are believed to have started in the DRC. Several mpox cases affecting travelers have also been identified in Sweden, Thailand, Germany, India and Britain.

Dr. Salim Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases expert at South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal. He said mpox outbreaks usually rise and then disappear quickly because of how the virus spreads. This time, however, he said the virus continues to spread through sex and infected animals.

"We're in new territory with mpox this time," he added. "We're never going to solve this until we vaccinate most of our people."

Words in This Story

stabilize-v. to not get worse; to even out or establish a normal level

epidemic -n. when an infectious disease spreads quickly over a large area

variant -n. a version of an infectious agent that is a little but different from the earlier one

substantially -adv. to a large degree

surveillance -n. closely observing something over a period to see if something bad is happening or going to happen

1 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 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。

6 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。

7 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

8 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

9 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

13 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。