Medical News

Broadcast: July 15, 2003
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VOICE ONE:
I'm Sarah Long with Bob Doughty¹, and this is the VOA Special English program, SCIENCE IN THE NEWS.
VOICE TWO:
This week -- a report on the problem of drug resistance. We tell about ways to protect pregnant women from 1)malaria². And, later: their dream was simply to look each other in the face -- the 2)tragedy of two sisters from Iran.
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VOICE ONE:
Two diseases common in children in developing countries can be treated and prevented. Yet the fight against malaria and 3)diarrhea has become a struggle for health workers. One of the main reasons is the incorrect use of medicines to treat these diseases.
Diarrhea is an intestinal³ disease. It can be caused by food that has gone bad or was not cooked well, or by water that is not clean. It is a major killer⁴ of children under the age of five. 4)Survivors often face problems with growth and development.
Children may get diarrhea several times a year. As soon as they appear to have it, antibiotic⁶ medicines are often given. Antibiotics⁷ are designed to kill bacteria.
But experts say antibiotics are usually not the best treatment for diarrhea. In fact, using antibiotics when they are not really needed creates another problem -- anti-microbial resistance. Germs learn to fight medicines that are used too often.
VOICE TWO:
Diarrhea usually kills through the loss of water from the body. So it is important to get enough fluid. There are special powders to mix with water to help children regain⁸ their strength.
One product is a solution of 5)sodium⁹ and glucose¹⁰ called oral 6)rehydration salts. Sodium and 7)glucose are more commonly known as salt and sugar. As a result of this product, the World Health Organization says the death rate which had been five million a year has dropped sharply.
Last year the W-H-O released oral rehydration salts with a new formula. The agency says the low-sodium, low-glucose formulation will reduce the severity of diarrhea and 8)vomiting¹¹.
A group called the Rehydration Project has more information on its Web site. The address is rehydrate dot o-r-g.
Experts say breastfeeding reduces the risk of diarrhea in babies. And improving cleanliness in homes and communities -- such as washing hands before touching¹² food -- can also help in prevention.
VOICE ONE:
The problem of anti-microbial resistance is even greater with malaria. Malaria kills seven-hundred thousand children a year. Most are in Africa. Malaria is caused by mosquito bites that inject a parasite¹³ organism into the body.
In many countries, anti-malarial medicines are easy to find without a doctor's orders. People often take them as soon as they get a fever, just in case they might have malaria. For many years chloroquine [CHLO-roh-quin] has been used. But it has been used too often. The parasites¹⁴ that cause malaria are able to fight this medicine.
In nineteen-ninety-one, a study at a hospital in Kenya looked at children who died of malaria. It found that the death rate for those treated with 9)chloroquine was twenty-five percent. The death rate for those treated with other drugs was ten percent.
Doctors say medicines that still work include a combination of chloroquine and a drug called 10)pyrimethamine [py-ri-METH-a-mine].
VOICE TWO:
There are even newer drugs. But because of the cost these are not yet widely used. Experts in the fight against anti-microbial resistance say people should ask questions about the medicines they are given. These experts say to take antibiotics only when a person knows the cause of a sickness -- and only when antibiotics would be the best way to cure it.
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VOICE ONE:
In some parts of Africa, adults have developed immunity¹⁵ to the mosquito bites that cause malaria. This means they do not get sick. But for women who are pregnant, the parasite can still affect their unborn baby. It can lead to babies who do not weigh enough to live. The problem is even worse for pregnant women who also have the AIDS virus, H-I-V. They are likely to become very sick themselves.
There are several ways to protect pregnant women from malaria. Researchers say nearly seventy-percent of pregnant women in Africa go to a health center or a doctor at least once while they are pregnant. The percentage of such visits is highest in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda and Kenya. It is lowest in Ethiopia and Niger.
A medicine called SP, or sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, can be taken during the woman's medical visit.
VOICE TWO:
Doctors say all pregnant women in areas where malaria is a serious problem should take SP at least once after their unborn baby moves for the first time. Studies by the World Health Organization show that women who take SP at least two times during their pregnancy¹⁶ give birth to healthier babies. Experts say it is best to take SP once each month until the baby is born.
It is also important for pregnant women to sleep under nets treated with chemicals that kill mosquitoes. Babies and children should also sleep under these nets.
There are other ways to help protect pregnant women from malaria infection. Mosquitoes will come to places filled with water. So use dirt or rocks to fill in holes or other places where water might collect. Cut down bushes next to homes. And keep food containers covered.
In two-thousand, many African leaders signed the Abuja Declaration to “roll back malaria.” The goal is to make sure that by two-thousand-five, sixty percent of pregnant women in Africa receive treatment to prevent malaria.
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VOICE ONE:
Ladan and Laleh Bijani wanted to live the rest of their lives normally. For twenty-nine years the Iranian sisters were joined at the head. Yet they were lawyers. They were famous. But what they wanted, they said, was to be able to look each other in the eyes without using a mirror.
The Bijani sisters had separate brains but shared an important blood vessel¹⁷ in the head. Doctors in the past had told them an attempt at separation was too dangerous. But Raffles¹⁸ Hospital in Singapore agreed to form an international team of experts to help them reach their dream.
VOICE TWO:
The operation last week in Singapore was the first known attempt to separate adults joined at the head. It involved cutting and re-building the back part of the most important blood passage in the brain.
The 11)sagittal sinus vein¹⁹ extends from the forehead across the top to the back of the head. The doctors planned to give the vein to one of the twins and build a new one for the other with a vein taken from the leg.
The hospital said Ladan and Laleh began to lose blood pressure after about fifty hours of surgery. The two sisters died of blood loss within ninety minutes of each other. People in Iran and Singapore cried at the news.
VOICE ONE:
Some family members did not agree with the decision to separate the twenty-nine-year-old sisters who came from Firouzabad, in southern Iran. But people who knew Ladan and Laleh say the two understood the chances.
The doctors involved said the women knew the risks of possible brain damage and death. But the doctors also say that tests done before the operation showed a medical reason for the surgery. These tests found that the pressure inside the women's brains was two times what it should have been. The doctors said they felt that, sooner or later, the women's health would be in danger.
VOICE TWO:
Some doctors who were not involved in this case questioned the decision to operate. These doctors say patients in a situation like the Bijani sisters would not have wanted to believe the warnings. They would only have wanted to believe that the operation would succeed.
Experts in medical ethics²⁰, though, say the doctors in Singapore appear to have acted correctly in their attempt to help the women. They say the hospital gathered a team that could do the operation and had a reasonable chance of success. In the end, they say, the decision had to come not from the doctors, but from the patients.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Karen Leggett and Nancy Steinbach. This is Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

注释：
1) malaria [mE5lZEriE] n.疟疾，瘴气
2) tragedy [5trAdVidi] n.悲惨，灾难
3) diarrhea [7daiE5riE] n.痢疾，腹泻
4) survivor⁵ [sE5vaivE] n.生还者
5) sodium [5sEudjEm] n.（化） 钠
6) rehydration [9ri:hai5dreiFEn] n.（化） 再水化，再水合
7) glucose [5^lu:kEus] n.葡萄糖
8) vomiting [5vRmitiN] n.呕吐
9) chloroquine [7klC(:)rE5kwi:n] n.疟疾的特效药之一种，氯喹
10) pyrimethamine [7paiEri5meWEmi:n] n.（药）乙嘧啶，息疟定
11) sagittal [5sAdVitl] adj. （解）颅顶骨矢状合缝的；纵分的；矢形面的

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

4 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

7 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

8 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

9 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

10 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

11 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

12 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

13 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

14 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

15 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

16 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。

17 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

18 raffles   

n.抽彩售物( raffle的名词复数 )v.以抽彩方式售（物）( raffle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Elsa and I will buzz on to the Raffles bar. 埃尔莎和我继续往前去，到拉福尔旅馆的酒巴。 来自辞典例句
• Tudsbury rushed to the Raffles and dictated this hot story to Pamela. 塔茨伯利冲到拉福尔旅馆，对帕米拉口述了这个最新消息。 来自辞典例句

19 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

20 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。