2006年VOA标准英语-Concerns Over Nigeria's Bird Flu Recurrence

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
09 July 2006

Nigerian child holds up a chicken outside the family home in Todo village   
  
Recent research findings that Nigeria may have been hit repeatedly by different strains of bird flu are raising concern, as the West African country struggles to deal with the outbreak.

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It has been about five months since the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain was first detected in Nigeria. Despite repeated government assurances that its containment¹ measures are working, experts say the outbreak is far from over.

Dr. Bala Mohammed is the secretary general of the Nigerian Veterinary Association.

"There has been some kind of a resurgence² in Taraba and Lagos. And except for some few people who believe bird flu had gone, but for those on the job, the heat is on. We have new cases in Lagos and Taraba," Mohammed says.

Researchers say Nigeria may have been hit by different strains of bird flu, raising the risk of human contagion³. Experts warn that, unless the Nigerian outbreak is effectively dealt with immediately, there is now a real chance that the virus could become transmissible among humans, leading to the possibility of a pandemic.

Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Nigeria Helder Muteia says surveillance is being stepped up to get a clearer picture of the current outbreak.

"We have designed an active surveillance program, because we have to know. Until this moment, we had a very passive surveillance strategy," Muteia says. "So, let us have an active surveillance. That means to go to the field and to find out what is going on there, instead of waiting for people to announce any outbreak. So, we are starting very soon an active surveillance to know exactly what is going on."

Nigerian veterinarians are pushing for radical⁴ changes in efforts to stem the bird flu outbreak as Dr. Mohammed explains.

"A whole lot of problems that I feel will have to be sorted out. Until the issue of surveillance, compensation, decontamination ... until things are done properly, until regulatory agencies collaborate⁵, until we get either remotely or actively⁶ get the farmers to report cases, we would not get out of the problem," Mohammed says.

The World Health Organization says bird flu has infected 223 people since December 2003, killing⁷ more than 130 worldwide, primarily in Southeast Asia.

1 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

2 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

3 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

4 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

5 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。