VOA标准英语2010年-Report Outlines Challenges and Opportu

At the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna, a new report outlines the challenges and opportunities facing vaccine¹ researchers.  The report – The Road to Prevention – is called a scientific strategic plan to help end the epidemic².

The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise – an alliance of independent organizations – issued the report Sunday.

Executive Director Alan Bernstein says, “The report is a preview of the strategic plan for the Enterprise, which is going to be released in September at the annual AIDS vaccine conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  It outlines some of the key challenges facing the field and suggests to some extent some ways forward.  If we’re going to stop this epidemic, we need to define a clear road to prevention.”

Working in combination with other prevention efforts

“There are other strategies in play.  Things like microbicides, pre-exposure prophylaxis, treatment as prevention, circumcision.  But we certainly know for other infectious diseases, from polio to HPV (Human Papillomavirus), that the best way to stop a virus and probably the cheapest is with a vaccine,” he says.

A microbicide can be a vaginal cream, gel or suppository that kills the AIDS virus.  Pre-exposure prophylaxis would use anti-retroviral drugs as a preventive measure, instead of treatment later on when the immune system starts to fail.

 

Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise
Alan Bernstein, Executive Director, Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

There are several major challenges to a vaccine.  One is the virus itself, which Bernstein calls “clever.”

“It has this ability to mutate and alter itself very quickly and very profoundly.  You know, flu changes, let’s say, once a season.  So we have a year to tool up to make a vaccine and it’s relatively³ easy actually to make a vaccine against flu.  But even then it changes once a year.  HIV changes daily even within one infected individual,” he says.

Another big challenge is money

“It’s difficult at the moment to raise money for any kind of research given the current economic situation globally, including HIV vaccine research.  But it’s very frustrating⁴ at the moment because on the one hand I think we all should be worried that this epidemic is reaching crisis proportions.  The new money for treatment that UNAIDS calls for today is not readily available.  And yet, more and more people are getting infected,” he says.

Scientists know HIV has a weakness.  But they must find a way to exploit it.

Bernstein says, “Every living thing must have an Achilles’ heel.  The virus can’t change everything about it and still be viable⁵ - still be able to grow inside ourselves.”

Scientists recently announced they had uncovered naturally occurring anti-bodies in some HIV positive people that prevent the virus from entering cells.  The finding presents an opportunity for vaccine research.  The trick now is to find a vaccine that will help anyone’s immune system produce such antibodies.

Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise report released at Vienna AIDS conference

Another important development occurred late last year, when a clinical trial in Thailand showed that a human vaccine is possible.  The vaccine candidate cut the risk of infection among participants, but the results were not high enough to go to market.

“Trials are expensive,” he says, “They cost roughly a hundred million dollars each.  And we need to do, put simply, a lot more trials if we’re going to get a vaccine.  And I think the optimism in the field right now has given the whole field kind of a new momentum⁶.  I wouldn’t have said this a year ago.  But I think it’s clear we’re into a new era in this field.  And I must say it’s frustrating not to have the funds to actually move through that door pretty boldly.

The head of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise won’t predict when an effective AIDS vaccine will be available.  Even if a promising⁷ candidate were found today, a clinical trial would take at least three years.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 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。