Mosquito Season Means Zika Season, US Experts Warn

Mosquito Season Means Zika Season, US Experts Warn

It's nearly the start of summer in the U.S. — vacation time for families and breeding time for mosquitoes, including the one that carries the Zika virus.

Dr. Tom Frieden, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says much can be done to prevent the spread of Zika in the U.S., particularly in the south, if Congress would only provide the money.

"We need a robust¹ response to protect American women and reduce, to the greatest extent humanly possible, the number of families affected². We don't know who those children will be. We don't know where they will grow up, but anything we don't do now, we will regret not having done later," he said.

Frieden and other top doctors say Zika would not be a major threat except that it causes serious birth defects, including microcephaly, which literally³ means "small head."

"When a child is born with microcephaly, it's not because the skull⁴ was malformed, it's because the virus destroyed the brain cells, and the skull collapsed⁵ around the demolished⁶ brain," Frieden said.

Some lawmakers say there's no evidence the virus will spread in the U.S. like it has in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dengue, a similar virus, has spread in the southern part of the western hemisphere, but, aside from a few cases in Florida and Texas, it has not spread from one person to another in the U.S.

‘Worst nightmare’

That's small comfort to Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician and chief of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine. "Microcephaly," he said, "is every parent's worst nightmare."

In early February, U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion for emergency funds to fight Zika. Before Congress left for a spring break in late May, it had not allocated⁷ any money, although the Senate has approved $1.1 billion toward mosquito extermination⁸ and research, including the development of a vaccine⁹, and the House has agreed to $622 million. Some congressional leaders have called the request "a slush fund." 

Frieden told reporters that a three-month delay in funding an epidemic¹⁰ can cause it to grow exponentially. He defended his agency's requested budget and said that, in the interim¹¹, the CDC has been forced to take money away from programs to fight Ebola in West Africa, and from the states' emergency funds that provide health services to victims of flooding and other catastrophes¹².

Dr. Edward McCabe, medical director of the March of Dimes¹³, told VOA, "My concern is that people won't start getting worried about Zika virus in the U.S. until we start seeing babies with microcephaly and other birth defects."

Pressing Congress

Since February, top U.S. doctors have pressed Congress for Zika funding.

Frieden and the head of the National Institute of Allergy¹⁴ and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have testified before House and Senate committees about the need for emergency funds to fight Zika, as have others. In April, the CDC held a summit with state and local officials ahead of the virus' anticipated arrival in the U.S. Doctors from various organizations representing city, county and state public health agencies have made the point that they lack the money to wage an effective fight against the Zika virus. 

Frieden said the greatest emotion he feels about preparing for the Zika virus is frustration¹⁵.

"Imagine that you're standing¹⁶ by and you see someone drowning, and you have the ability to stop them from drowning, but you can't. Now multiply that by a thousand or a hundred thousand. That's what it feels like to know how to change the course of an epidemic and not be able to do it," Frieden said.

When Congress returns from a two-week break June 6, the debate over Zika funding will continue. 

1 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

2 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。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

7 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

8 extermination   

n.消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• All door and window is sealed for the extermination of mosquito. 为了消灭蚊子，所有的门窗都被封闭起来了。 来自辞典例句
• In doing so they were saved from extermination. 这样一来却使它们免于绝灭。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 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。

11 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

12 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

13 dimes   

n.（美国、加拿大的）10分铸币( dime的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters are United States coins. 1分铜币、5分镍币、1角银币和2角5分银币是美国硬币。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In 1965 the mint stopped putting silver in dimes. 1965年，铸币厂停止向10分硬币中加入银的成分。 来自辞典例句

14 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

15 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。