2007年VOA标准英语-US Doctors Find More Cases of Parasite Infectio

By Carol Pearson
Washington
22 May 2007
 

Doctors in the United States are seeing more infections from parasites² normally found in developing countries.  These infections could be prevented, contained or cured, but the problem is, many American doctors are not trained to look for signs of parasite¹ infections until sometimes it is too late. VOA's Carol Pearson reports.

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The bug that transmits the T. cruzi parasites to humans, which cause Chagas disease

Chagas disease is one example of the parasitic⁴ infections doctors in the U.S. are now seeing. It is caused by a microscopic⁵ parasite, called T. cruzi. Dr. James Maguire, Director, International health division, University of Maryland shows the bug that causes Chagas disease.

Dr. Maguire specializes in diseases caused by parasites. Chagas disease can cause severe chronic⁶ illness or death.

Los Angeles Public Health Director Jonathan Fielding says donated blood tainted⁷ by T. cruzi is starting to show up in hospital operating rooms. "There have been two cases locally where somebody has gotten an organ transplant and found out that organ was infected with Chagas disease and they've developed Chagas disease."

Once in the body, the parasites literally⁸ feed off organ cells such as those in the heart.  As they multiply, the cells burst.  If the parasites are in the heart, the infected person can experience sudden heart failure.  Dr. Maguire says what the blood banks in Los Angeles are finding is only part of the picture. "That's probably the tip of the iceberg⁹.  There may be as much as ten times as many people who are infected, and we don't know about that. "

Most people in the U.S. with Chagas disease are immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America. Dr. Maguire says Chagas disease is difficult to cure and easy to miss during a physical examination. "Most people wouldn't know unless they had a blood test." Reporter: "And the doctor would have to be looking for it." Dr. Maguire nods and adds, "...would have to be looking for it and would have to be knowledgeable¹⁰ about the disease."

Dr. Maguire says about half of the blood banks in the United States screen donors¹¹ for this parasite.

Another parasitic disease American doctors are now seeing is leishmaniasis, a painful skin condition that Dr. Nancy Crum sees on Marines returning from Iraq. "The only way you can get this parasite is through a bite of an infected sand fly."

"Usually the lesion begins two to eight weeks after the sand fly bites, and it's at the exact same location of the sand fly bite.  And it usually starts as a little tiny papule at the site, but it can expand over several days to several weeks into an ulcer¹²."

The leishmania parasite invades a person's white blood cells, the cells that normally fight infection. Leishmaniasis is found in tropical or subtropical regions. The World Health Organization reports some 300 million people are at risk of getting infected.

The sores sometimes go away on their own, but it can also result in scars and disfigurement.  If the parasite invades an organ, it can kill. 

Leishmaniasis is also called kala-azar, a Hindi word for "black-sickness" because it makes the skin darker. The disease is prevalent in Sudan.  Dr. Erwin de Vries says if the disease goes untreated to can resemble other diseases. "The tragic¹³ thing about kala-azar is you catch it like malaria¹⁴ from a sand fly and it wastes you as if you have HIV/AIDS.  Within a few months time, you will look like a skeleton and you will be dead.

As terrifying as these diseases are, most of them can be prevented.  Dr. Maguire says Chagas has been wiped out in the southern cone¹⁵ of South America. This has saved several million people from getting the disease.

Parasitologists, like Dr. Maguire, hope increasing awareness¹⁶ in the developed world might lead to increased funding to get rid of these parasitic diseases in developing countries.  But he acknowledges there is still a long way to go.

1 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。

2 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。

3 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

4 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

5 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

10 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

11 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ulcer   

n.溃疡，腐坏物

参考例句：

• She had an ulcer in her mouth.她口腔出现溃疡。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

13 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

14 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。

15 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

16 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。