VOA英语2010年-New, Affordable Meningitis Vaccine Debuts in

Health officials say a new, affordable¹ vaccine² launched this week in Burkina Faso could eliminate recurring³ meningitis-A epidemics⁵ that have plagued the continent for the past century.

Health workers say Meningococcal-A epidemics that hit sub-Saharan Africa every seven to 14 years could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new, affordable vaccine launched this week in Burkina Faso.

A baby cries in his mother's arms as he is vaccinated⁷. His mother says she is afraid of meningitis because it kills and that is why she brought her baby here.

Burkina Faso is part of what health workers call Africa's "meningitis belt," a band of 25 countries stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia. Health workers plan to vaccinate⁶ 12 million Burkinabe against the disease by the end of the year.

The new vaccine, called MenAfriVac, is the first vaccine developed especially for Africa. It costs less than 50 cents a dose and provides 10 years of immunity⁸ against a form of meningitis called meningococcal-A, which infects the lining⁹ around the brain and spinal¹⁰ cord and can kill or disable its victims. The strain accounts for more than 80 percent of meningitis outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa.

The vaccine was developed by a partnership¹¹ between the World Health Organization and international nonprofit, PATH, with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and collaboration¹² from public health officials in affected¹³ countries.

Meningitis Vaccine Project leader Michael LaForce said its launch this week marks "the beginning of the end" for meningitis in Burkina Faso, and sub-Saharan Africa.

"Today is a phenomenal day," LaForce said. "Today represents the culmination¹⁴ of ten years worth of work to develop the vaccine. The president of Burkina Faso has unleashed¹⁵ a major vaccination¹⁶ campaign here, and we fully¹⁷ expect to see impact from this vaccine in the next epidemic⁴ season which will be next spring."

Showing his support, Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore and his wife were there Monday when the first vaccinations¹⁸ were administered to children in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Mr. Compaore says meningitis kills men, women and children throughout the region. He says thanks to international partnerships¹⁹ and support, we now have a vaccine that was specifically made to fight this epidemic while also being accessible to the population. He says concern now is how to mobilize more than 300 million people across the region to get vaccinated and put an end to recurring epidemics.

A meningitis outbreak last year killed 5,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa, and the World Health Organization says more 450 million people there are currently at risk of the disease.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan applauded the vaccine as a one-time investment that could save tens of thousands of lives by 2015.

"Twenty-five countries are affected, so Burkina Faso is taking the leadership to launch this campaign which is extremely important," said Chan. "This is the first step. Two other countries, Mali and Niger, will follow, and we hope to be able to get more resources to support the other 22 countries so that their people can benefit from this very effective and affordable vaccine."

The World Health Organization says an additional $475 million is needed to extend vaccination to all 25 affected countries by 2015.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 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。

3 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

6 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

7 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

8 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

9 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

10 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

15 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句