VOA标准英语2014--US Ebola Fears Spread Faster Than Virus

 

US Ebola Fears Spread Faster Than Virus

For Americans, Ebola started out as a disease in a far away continent, but then a man from Liberia died from Ebola in a Dallas hospital, and things changed.

Ebola was on American soil. Fears heightened, and they spiked¹ even more when two nurses who treated that Ebola patient contracted the disease.

These new cases have prompted an epidemic² of fear. 

One of the nurses, Nina Pham, was transferred from a Dallas hospital to the clinical studies unit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. 

Efforts to allay³ fears

A top official there, Dr. Anthony Fauci, sought to allay fears at a news conference Friday morning.

"We fully⁴ intend to have this patient walk out of this hospital. And we intend to do everything we can to make that happen," Fauci said.

The other nurse, Amber⁵ Vinson, has been moved to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

Despite assurances from America's top doctors, more than 80 percent of Americans believe Ebola can be spread by many ways, including by sneezing and coughing. Those are the results of a new poll by Harvard University.

Infectious disease experts say the virus can only be spread by contact with bodily fluids from someone who has the disease. 

The poll also shows that more than half of adults are concerned that there will be a large outbreak of Ebola inside the U.S. within the next 12 months.

Health-care workers concerned

Nurses and doctors are also raising their concerns.

Nurses' groups say they haven't been trained to care for Ebola patients and that they don't have proper equipment to protect them from catching⁶ the virus. Randi Weingarten heads one of the nurses unions.

"Frontline providers, who are key to containing Ebola, must have a voice and be involved in the development and implementation⁷ of plans," Weingarten said.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama used his weekly address to tell Americans keep the situation in perspective and not to give in to Ebola "hysteria or fear."

Many Americans are calling for a ban on travel to the U.S. from West African nations affected⁸ by Ebola until the virus is under control.

But that would prevent the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from screening and tracking these visitors. That's what CDC head Dr. Thomas Frieden, told a congressional hearing on Thursday.  

"Borders can be porous⁹. We won't be able to check them for fever when they leave. We won't be able to check them for fever when they arrive. When they arrive we wouldn't be able to impose quarantine," Frieden told members of a House subcommittee.

Still, a plane that one of the infected nurses flew on is now being disinfected and schools in Ohio and Texas closed their doors because some students or staff shared an airplane with the nurse, unnecessary procedures prompted by fear because experts say you can only get Ebola from a sick person's bodily fluids.

1 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

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 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

4 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。

5 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

6 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。

7 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

8 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。

9 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。