VOA标准英语2009年-H1N1 Virus Goes Global

By Laurel Bowman
Washington
04 November 2009

 
People everywhere are trying to protect themselves against the swine flu
From Europe to Asia to the Middle East, the 2009 H1N1 virus is spreading. The World Health Organization reports the virus has killed close to 6,000 people worldwide.

"I come home from the street, take the mask off, wash and iron it and make my children do so too," she said.

Hundreds of thousands of doses of Tamiflu, a treatment for H1N1 flu, have arrived in the Ukraine, which has reported a sudden outbreak, killing¹ at least 22. 

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko met the plane on the tarmac.

"A large number of the most needed medicines to treat those people who have caught flu have been delivered today," said Yulia Tymoshenko. "It is Tamiflu. I have it in my hands…"

 
Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
The government has closed schools, limited public gatherings² and imposed travel restrictions³ with enforcement at the borders.

Health experts in Germany are also reporting an alarming rise in H1N1 cases. Most worrisome, many aren't travel-related but are developing inside the country.

German health officials are worried. 

"If you want, you can say the wave has begun," said an official.

Health officials say that here in the U.S. an estimated 1,000 people have died from the H1N1 virus with roughly one million infected. Most of those cases have been tracked since September, the onset⁴ of the flu season here.

In China, because of slow global distribution of the vaccine⁵, the government has produced its own. And it has launched a massive vaccination⁶ campaign. So have 16 other countries, including Japan and Israel.

In Afghanistan, many residents blame foreigners traveling to their country for at least two confirmed H1N1 deaths.

Health officials declared a state of emergency following those deaths. 

 
Some Afghans blame foreigners traveling to their country for at least two confirmed H1N1 deaths
"Whoever comes from abroad should be checked before entry, if they are well, they should be able to enter if not they should be deported," said an Afghan man.

Deporting⁷ sick travelers might not do the trick, says microbiologist Dr. Andrew Pekosz, since people can carry and pass H1N1 for up to a day before developing symptoms. 

His advice to those with access to the vaccine: Get it now.

"The vaccine is safe when administered to a number of different populations and it also induces a very good immune response which should protect you from infection," said Andrew Pekosz.

He repeats that the best protection against catching⁸ and spreading H1N1 is good hygiene⁹. Use a tissue or cover your mouth.

Health officials say to date more than 440,000 people around the world have been infected with H1N1. They say before the pandemic ends, 30 percent of the world's population may have been infected.

1 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。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

5 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。

6 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

7 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

8 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

9 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。