2006年VOA标准英语-WHO Declares Egypt Free of Indigenous Poli

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
01 February 2006

The World Health Organization reports Egypt has eliminated indigenous¹ polio and is no longer a source of transmission of the virus.  The U.N. agency calls this a milestone² and an important advance in the agency's campaign to wipe this crippling disease off the face of the Earth. 

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Boys stand outside UNICEF-assisted community school in Asyut, Egypt; The boy on the right survived a bout³ with polio, but disease left him crippled   
  

Polio had been present in Egypt for 5,000 years, and now the virus that has paralyzed countless⁴ thousands of children is gone from that country. 

The Head of the WHO Polio Eradication⁵ Initiative, David Heymann, says Egypt and Niger have been completely free of the polio virus native to their countries for the last 12 months.
 
 
A toddler receives oral polio vaccine⁶ at a UNICEF-supported health centre in Cairo
  
"Egypt has remained free because it is fairly isolated⁷ from other countries with polio being in the north of Africa where polio has been eliminated," he said. "But, Niger is just next to Nigeria and so periodically, they are still receiving imported cases of polio from Nigeria.  But, this is not polio which had its origins in Niger."

Three northern Islamic States in Nigeria stopped immunizing their children against polio two years ago.  They claimed the polio vaccine was contaminated and caused HIV/AIDS and infertility⁸. 

The wild virus traveled from Nigeria, re-infecting 18 countries, as far away as Indonesia and Yemen, that had been polio-free.  Through mass immunization campaigns, most of these countries have managed to once-again free themselves of polio. 

Dr. Heymann says religious and political leaders in northeastern Nigeria now are satisfied that the polio vaccine is safe and have been intensifying⁹ efforts to immunize  children against the disease.  But, he says problems remain.

"The rumors¹⁰ about the safety of polio vaccine are still circulating in northern Nigeria," Dr. Heymann said. "But, we now have the governors of northern Nigeria very engaged in helping¹¹ their public understand that these vaccines¹² have now been proven to be safe.  Religious leaders are also working hard to convince their populations that the vaccine is safe and they are actually vaccinating¹³ in Koranic schools." 

The World Health Organization reports 1,856 children were paralyzed by polio last year, nearly one half of them in Nigeria.  Before the global polio eradication campaign began in 1988, 350,000 children a year became infected with the disease.

Dr. Heymann says other difficult areas where polio remains¹⁴ endemic include southern Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.   He says all of these countries are making good progress in eliminating the virus.  

As long as polio is present in any country in the world, he says no country is safe.   He notes that Lebanon, Nepal and Angola all have been re-infected by a wild virus that traveled from India.

Dr. Heymann says the world is a step closer toward the goal of eradicating¹⁵ polio and he is optimistic that this will be achieved in the next two years. 

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 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。

3 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

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 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

9 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

10 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 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。

13 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。