VOA标准英语2009年-New Study Shows River Blindness Can Be Eli

The World Health Organization says studies in Senegal and Mali show it is possible to eliminate river blindness. More than 37 million people are infected with the parasite¹ that causes river blindness. While the disease is endemic in some parts of the Americas, 99 percent of those infected are in Africa.
　
Logo of the World Health Organization at WHO headquarters in Geneva

Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is transmitted by the black fly, which breeds in rivers. It is a major cause of blindness and also causes debilitating² skin disease. The disease flourishes in poor, rural communities in west and central Africa.

River Blindness has been treated with a drug called Ivermectin for more than 20 years. The drug, which has been provided free of charge by Merck & Co., successfully stops further infections and transmission of this parasitic³ disease.

But the World Health Organization notes Ivermectin only kills the larvae⁴, not the adult worms, which cause the disease. Therefore, it says annual or biannual⁵ treatments must be given to people living in vulnerable African communities to keep the disease in check.

Results of a two-year study in Senegal and Mali show it is possible to stop Ivermectin after many years of treatment without provoking further infections and transmission. Dr. Hans Remme is overall coordinator⁶ of the study, which was carried out by WHO and numerous partners.

"We actually tested this hypothesis that you could eliminate the parasite and transmission and safely stop treatment," Dr. Remme said. "And, we tested it by actually stopping treatment in five to eight villages in each of the study areas. And, then we followed the population up very intensely for two years. And, the very good news, which is published in this article is that over those two years, we did not find any infected people in those test areas and we did not find any infected black flies and a lot of them were analyzed⁷. Over 150,000 flies were analyzed annually⁸. So this is based on very large data."

Dr. Remme calls the study a milestone⁹. He says further studies are needed to determine to what extent these findings can be extrapolated to other areas in Africa. But, he says, the principle of onchocerciasis elimination¹⁰ with Ivermectin treatment has been established.

"It is the first time then that we now can say, "Yes." It takes a long time, but ultimately you can anticipate elimination of Onchocerciasis, not only as a public health problem, but of the parasite and transmission and therefore we can safely stop treatment," Dr. Remme said.

Dr. Remme says researchers are trying to develop a better drug, which would kill or completely sterilize¹¹ the adult worm. Such a drug, he says could eliminate river blindness within six, rather than 15 years.

He says a very promising¹² drug, called Moxydectin and manufactured by Wyatt, is currently undergoing trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Ghana. He says results of these trials should be known by 2012.

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 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

3 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。

4 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

5 biannual   

adj.一年两次的

参考例句：

• I have to make a biannual report next Monday.下周一我得作半年度报告。
• Our school doctor recommends a biannual visit to the dentist.我们校医建议一年去看牙医两次。

6 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？

7 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

9 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

10 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

11 sterilize   

vt.使不结果实；使绝育；使无效；杀菌，消毒

参考例句：

• Antiseptic is used to sterilize the skin before giving an injection.杀菌剂被用于在注射前给皮肤消毒。
• He pricks the blister on his heel with a sterilize needle.他用一根消过毒的针扎破他脚后跟上的水泡。

12 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。