VOA标准英语2014--独家:在塞拉利昂的病毒中心并没有治疗埃博拉的办法

 

Exclusive: No Ebola Treatment at Sierra Leone Holding Center 独家:在塞拉利昂的病毒中心并没有治疗埃博拉的办法

MAKENI, SIERRA LEONE— 

Dozens of very sick people sat on the floor in an empty university building in central Sierra Leone.

They waited in filthy¹ conditions.

With the nearest treatment center a 16-hour drive away in Kailahun, there is no way to treat the sick, despite the likelihood they are infected with Ebola.

According to Osman Bah, the Makeni government hospital director, Ebola cases have spiked² in recent weeks.

“More than 100, 150 cases, because we have sent 56 patients to Kailahun,” he said. “This morning we have had more than 100-110 patients.”

 This university complex is being used as a makeshift holding facility because the sick people have nowhere else to go.

Highly contagious³ patients lie in the open.

One woman sat on the floor, too sick to stand.

Other victims huddled⁴ together on beds.

One young child was laying alone.

They waited and hoped for a space in the next ambulance.

Growing numbers of Ebola outbreak hotspots are emerging in new locations across the country.

“We get phone calls every day from districts over the whole country, and those districts are absolutely overwhelmed,” said Axelle Vandoornick, a medical field coordinator⁵ for Doctors Without Borders.

There is no way of telling which patients are Ebola-positive.

Despite this, they are kept together.

“Ninety-nine percent of the cases that we have isolated⁶ are positive of Ebola,” said Bah, the medical director.

Medical staff at the containment⁷ center have little training or experience dealing⁸ with Ebola.

Protective equipment is inadequate⁹.

One makeshift ward¹⁰ was empty.

Beds were filthy.

Pill packets sat among piles of clothes left by a departing patient.

Twenty-five confirmed Ebola patients left for Borders treatment center in Kailahun one recent night.

Four died during the 16-hour journey.

Doctors Without Borders’ Vandoornick said numbers are increasing.

“Every day we have ambulances arriving and when we open the door there are dead bodies inside the ambulance alongside non-cases potentially,” Vandoornick said. “So that is the first source of contamination.”

When two new patients were brought in to the center, one young boy showed symptoms for Ebola.

Despite the risk, his mother would not leave his side.

“It’s too much,” said Karimo Konteh, an ambulance driver. “Every day I pick up 10, 15, 14, 12 patients, everyday. ...”

Vandoornick said some districts have no Ebola treatment facilities of their own.

“They don't have [enough] capacity of Ebola centers in their district, so basically they are trying to send their patients to us,” Vandoornick said.

Bah, the medical director, said he is not hopeful the situation will improve.

“For now the situation is not under control,” he said. “We are hoping it will be better.

“But I am afraid, maybe it will get worse.”

1 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

2 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

3 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。

4 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

5 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？

6 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。

7 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

10 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。