2006年VOA标准英语-French Researchers Develop Bird Flu Vaccin

By Jessica Berman
Washington
11 May 2006

French researchers at the Sanofi Pasteur Institute say they have developed a bird flu vaccine¹ that, so far, appears to be safe and effective in humans.  But observers caution it's too soon to say whether the experimental drug would work in a flu pandemic.

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A French vet² vaccinates³ a Padouan chicken against the bird flu
  

The avian influenza⁴ type A virus H5N1 has decimated poultry⁵ in parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, and caused severe illness and death in humans.  On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the first case of bird flu in an infant girl in Djibouti in east Africa.

Djibouti is the second country in Africa after Egypt to have confirmed human cases of the disease.  Eight countries have identified H5N1 in waterfowl.

So far, there's no evidence it has spread from human to human, even though that is seen by health authorities as a distinct possibility.  Public health officials say human-to-human transmission could cause the virus to mutate rapidly, leading to a pandemic that could kill millions.

Researchers at France's Sanofi Pasteur Institute say they have developed a vaccine to produce neutralizing⁷ antibodies in humans and disarm⁸ the virus in infected individuals.  They say they have created six versions of the serum⁹, all involving an inactivated¹⁰, modified strain of H5N1, and gave two doses of the drug to 300 healthy volunteers over a 42-day period. 

According to the results of the study, which were published in the British medical journal The Lancet all six versions raised immunity¹¹ in all of the volunteers.  The researchers said the best results were produced by a vaccine that combined the inactive virus with a weak booster agent known as an adjuvant.  Investigators¹² say there were few side effects.

Study lead author Melanie Saville says the response investigators are getting in the lab is about as good as that of any seasonal¹³ flu vaccine.

"And at the moment, this is the best thing that we can do," she said.  "As without any circulation of a pandemic strain, we can't see how efficacious a vaccine would be."

But observers caution that it's hard to predict how well the vaccine would work during a highly aggressive, flu pandemic.

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. Institute of Allergy¹⁴ and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, says annual flu shots work because they have been circulating, in slightly mutated form, within the human population for years.  H5N1is an entirely¹⁵ new strain that has jumped the species barrier from water fowl⁶ to humans, and Fauci says that's left scientists unprepared.

"Which tells us we have a long way to go before we optimize¹⁶ our approach to influenza," he said.

In the United States, an experimental bird flu vaccine yielded somewhat disappointing results.  In a study published in March, researchers described how the the compound stimulated¹⁷ protection in slightly over half of study participants receiving the highest doses. 

But even so, observers say such moderately effective vaccines¹⁸ could be useful in limiting transmissibility, alleviating¹⁹ severe symptoms and limiting deaths from avian flu.

1 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。

2 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

3 vaccinates   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的第三人称单数 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• The coverage rates of BCG,DPT,measles and polio vaccinates are 99 42%,99 79%,99 26%,99 21%,respectively. 1995 年“四苗”单项接种率分别为BCG99.42% 、TOPV99.21% 、DPT99.79% 、MV99.26% , “四苗”全程率98.84% 。

4 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

5 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

6 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

7 neutralizing   

v.使失效( neutralize的现在分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• This juice-about a quart a day--pours into my duodenum, neutralizing acids. 这种消化液（每天约分泌1品脱）流入我的十二指肠，把酸中和了。 来自辞典例句
• AIM: To verify the role of a synthetic peptide in neutralizing endotoxins. 目的：检验一条合成肽在中和内毒素活性方面的作用。 来自互联网

8 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

9 serum   

n.浆液，血清，乳浆

参考例句：

• The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
• Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质，共11种，称为补体。

10 inactivated   

v.使不活泼，阻止活动( inactivate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Molluscicides are quickly inactivated by sunlight and adsorption to mud organic matter. 灭螺剂因阳光作用、泥土及有机物质的吸收会很快失效。 来自辞典例句
• Viruses were inactivated by BPL and the toxicity measured again. BPL对病毒进行灭活，测定残存毒力。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

14 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

15 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

16 optimize   

v.使优化 [=optimise]

参考例句：

• We should optimize the composition of the Standing Committees.优化人大常委会组成人员的结构。
• We should optimize our import mix and focus on bringing in advanced technology and key equipment.优化进口结构，着重引进先进技术和关键设备。

17 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

18 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。

19 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。