VOA标准英语2008年-WHO to Update Guidelines for Possible Flu Pande

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
07 May 2008

About 150 experts from governments, the World Health Organization, and other organizations are meeting to work on new guidelines to help nations confront and combat a potential influenza¹ pandemic. The World Health Organization, which is hosting the week-long meeting, says governments must be prepared. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from the opening of the conference in Geneva.

The World Health Organization says it is certain that one day the world will face a human influenza pandemic. But, it adds no one knows when that will happen.

The Coordinator² of WHO's Global Influenza Program, Keiji Fukuda, says the near term risk of an avian influenza pandemic breaking out among humans is anyone's guess. Therefore, he says, it becomes all the more important that governments be prepared to help their people survive a disease that could potentially kill millions.

"If we are able to detect the first emergence³ of a pandemic early enough, then we will try to contain it and we will have a short window to do that. And, if we do not contain it or if it is beyond our ability to even try to do it from the beginning, then we will enter into a pandemic period, which will be the spread of what is now a human virus around the world. We are talking about trying to stop the first emergence, to slow the first emergence of a pandemic influenza," he said.

H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu, is largely an animal disease. Humans that have become sick have had close contact with infected poultry⁴. Scientists are worried that one-day H5N1 will mutate into a form that can be easily transmitted from human to human.

To prevent this from happening, the World Health Organization is leading a global effort to make sure all nations are prepared to meet this challenge.

Dr. Fukuda says the world is in a much better position to deal with the flu threats now than it was before. He says scientists have a number of concepts and tools that were not available a few years ago.

"We are in a period in which information on a number of different aspects of influenza is just burgeoning⁵. In many ways, we are in a kind of scientific renaissance⁶, but the technical information about a number of different issues have really increased at a huge pace ... So our understanding of the virus, the effects on people, the epidemiology, how viruses move around the world is much greater than it was a few years ago and this continues," he said.

Dr. Fukuda says advances have been made in the development of an H5N1 vaccine⁷ and in anti-viral drugs. He says the World Health Organization has a large stockpile of these drugs and plans are afoot to increase the supply of future vaccines⁸.

The meeting this week will focus on areas such as disease control, surveillance, medical interventions⁹, and the role of communications during an influenza pandemic.

Dr. Fukuda says the World Health Organization expects to publish new guidelines by the end of the year to help nations prepare for flu outbreaks.

1 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。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

4 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?

5 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

6 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

7 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。

8 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。

9 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网