VOA标准英语2010年-East Timor Declares War on Leprosy

Chad Bouchard | Dili 30 January 2010

East Timor is one of the few remaining countries where leprosy is endemic, and one of only two in Asia where it has yet to be eliminated. The government has declared war on leprosy, and vows¹ to eliminate it this year.

Florindo di Silva started feeling pain in his eyes four years ago. The 60-year-old father of six says he went to a doctor in the East Timor capital, Dili, but no treatment was available. The disease that caused di Silva to lose vision, and his hands and toes to go numb² - turned out to be leprosy.

He says he can walk a little bit, he can chop wood, but it hurts. Right now, his hands cannot do anything. Di Silva says his eyes and head hurt every day, and he is not strong enough to cut coconuts³ with a knife.

According to the World Health Organization, di Silva is one of about 1,300 new cases of leprosy that have been detected in East Timor since 2004.

Health officials say the number of undocumented people living with disabilities caused by leprosy is likely three times higher.

Some progress has been made. In 2004, the overall ratio of infection was 4.7 per 10,000 people. In 2009, that fell to 1.3 per 10,000.

The decline is due in large part to a program that blanketed the country with hundreds of health ministry⁴ staff members able to diagnose and manage the disease.

One of those health workers, Jose Pereira, works at a clinic where he monitors di Silva and about 12 other patients with leprosy.

Pereira says if his patients do not come to the clinic to get medicine, he goes to their houses in the villages to give them medicine. But, he says, they often ask for food, and he does not have any to give, and it is very difficult.

Leprosy is relatively⁵ easy to treat with a cocktail⁶ of antibacterial drugs known as multidrug therapy. After taking the medicine for one month, patients are no longer contagious⁷, and damage from the disease stops for good after a few months.

Poverty - a key challenge

But poverty is a key barrier to eliminating the disease. Natalie Smith, the country leader for the Leprosy Mission in East Timor, says the bacteria that causes the disease is endemic here, and flourishes in a population that is largely isolated⁸, malnourished and living in unsanitary conditions.

"It really thrives where there's poverty, poor sanitation⁹, poor diet and poor hygiene¹⁰ and those sort of contribute to affect the people living in that environment's immune system, so when their immune system is compromised, they're more susceptible¹¹ to catching¹² leprosy," said Smith.

In rural East Timor, where about three quarters of the country's 1.1 million residents live, diagnosing patients and ensuring treatment remains¹³ a challenge. Smith says failing to identify the disease and treat it perpetuates¹⁴ a crushing cycle of poverty.

"I think it needs to be a priority because of the disability that it produces. And there's been a lot of studies on the burden of disability now and the fact that if people with disabilities are assisted and helped they can actually add to a country's economic viability¹⁵ rather than economic demise¹⁶. But the longer we delay in treating someone, the more likely they're going to get nerve damage and that's going to lead to long-term disability," she said.

Leprosy campaign

The government has vowed¹⁷ to eliminate the disease this year. The head of East Timor's Leprosy Program at the Ministry of Health, Jose Liu Fernandes, says to do that, the government has begun a radio and television campaign about the disease and how to prevent it.

He says East Timorese do not yet know enough about the disease, so they are surprised when they contract it. Fernandes says they need to teach people that if they start feeling numbness¹⁸ in their hands, it could be leprosy.

In many countries, people with leprosy are shunned¹⁹ and face a lifetime of isolation²⁰.

But Salvador Amaral, with the World Health Organization, says there is no such stigma²¹ in East Timor. Salvador says traditionally here, leprosy is not considered to be a disease, but a result of eating certain foods, like fish, or a curse from God.

Back in the outskirts²² of Dili, 22-year-old Joao Godinho Sarmento recounts how he started noticing light patches on his arms six years ago. It turned out to be early signs of leprosy. Doctors caught the disease before it caused serious disability.

Sarmento says his life is pretty normal. He does not have problems at school, and no one considers him to be different or disabled. He hopes other people who have this disease can realize they are not different from anyone else.

Sarmento studies mathematics at the national university, and hopes to become a teacher or an engineer.

 

1 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

2 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

3 coconuts   

n.椰子( coconut的名词复数 )；椰肉，椰果

参考例句：

• We found a bountiful supply of coconuts on the island. 我们发现岛上有充足的椰子供应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Coconuts provide "meat", drink, oil, soap and fiber for fishing line. 椰子提供“肉类”，饮料、油脂、肥皂和做钓（鱼）丝的纤维。 来自百科语句

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

7 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

8 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

9 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

10 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。

11 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

12 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。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 perpetuates   

n.使永存，使人记住不忘( perpetuate的名词复数 )；使永久化，使持久化，使持续

参考例句：

• Giving these events a lot of media coverage merely perpetuates the problem. 媒体大量地报道这些事件只会使问题持续下去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Lack of water perpetuates poverty, increases the risk of political instability, and affects global prosperity. 水资源短缺导致贫穷，使政局不稳，且影响全球的繁荣。 来自互联网

15 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

16 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

17 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

18 numbness   

n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆

参考例句：

• She was fighting off the numbness of frostbite. 她在竭力摆脱冻僵的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sometimes they stay dead, causing' only numbness. 有时，它们没有任何反应，只会造成麻木。 来自时文部分

19 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

21 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

22 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。