2006年VOA标准英语-India Announces Major Success Against Lepr

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
31 January 2006

 
Leprosy patients rub their hands with ayurvedic oil during treatment at the Leprosy Mission in New Delhi (File photo - January 18, 2000) 
  
India says it is close to conquering leprosy, a disease that once afflicted¹ millions of  people in the country. India's efforts to defeat the disfiguring disease are part of a global campaign launched by the World Health Organization in 1991.

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Leprosy still exists in India. But the authorities say the number of cases has plummeted² from more than four million in the 1980s to a little more than 100,000 at present. With its population of more than one billion, that means India has less than one case for every 10,000 people - the level at which the World Health Organization labels a disease "eliminated."

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss says the dramatic reduction is proof of India's commitment to fighting the disease.

"This 'elimination³' is just a milestone⁴ for us, because we want the world to know we are committed and we are serious and we are on target to eradicate⁵ leprosy," said Ramadoss. "We are going to continue with the same vigor⁶ if not even more vigor."

Leprosy, which dates back at least as far as biblical times, is not fatal. But the infectious disease can lead to severe disfigurement, and social stigma⁷ usually follows.

A campaign led by the WHO to eliminate leprosy led to a dramatic worldwide drop in the disease in the last decade. The program was launched in 1991 after multi-drug therapy made it possible to cure victims of the disease. Nearly 10 million people have since been treated, and most countries declared the disease eliminated by 2000.

But leprosy persisted in several countries, including India, Brazil and Madagascar, with India alone accounting⁸ for nearly half of the worldwide cases.

The WHO representative in India, Salim Habayeb, says India's size, combined with old prejudices, created several obstacles to the effort to wipe out the disease.

"It is the logistics. It is harder to reach everybody in the periphery," said Habayeb. "And also there is stigma and discrimination that drives people underground, and they suffer in silence without mentioning that they do have leprosy. But things have improved dramatically, especially when awareness⁹ was raised that leprosy is indeed curable, so people started coming earlier, before any deformity appears."

However, health experts warn that India must not lower its vigil, because leprosy is "down but not out." They say it could take up to 25 years before the disease can be completely eradicated¹⁰, and they say prevention and treatment campaigns must not lose momentum¹¹.

1 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

2 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

6 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

7 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

8 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。