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蚊帐成为抗疟疾最重要的武器

时间:2016-12-06 23:12:58

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(单词翻译)

To Fight Malaria1, Bed Nets Are the Most Important Weapon 蚊帐成为抗疟疾最重要的武器

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

United Nations researchers are reporting progress in the fight against the disease malaria.

The researchers confirm that malaria-carrying mosquitoes are becoming more resistant2 to insecticide products. But they note that another way to guard against the insects -- chemically-treated bed nets -- still provides a lot of protection against the disease.

The researchers reported on a five-year-long study. The findings were released at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene3 in Atlanta, Georgia.

A parasite4 called plasmodium is responsible for the spread of malaria. Mosquitoes infected with plasmodium pass the disease to human beings through mosquito bites.

The parasites5 reproduce in the human liver, and then infect red blood cells. After they enter the blood cells, they reproduce again. As they do this, they destroy the cells.

Signs of the disease appear in victims 10 to 15 days after they are bitten. People with malaria develop a high body temperature. They also can become weak, are unable to hold down food and suffer pain in the head or muscles. If not treated, malaria can make the victim sick and even cause death.

The U.N.’s World Health Organization carried out the study on malaria infection in five countries: Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Sudan and India. The U.N. agency received financing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

WHO teams examined the effectiveness of long-lasting nets treated with insect-killing chemicals.

Tessa Knox, a WHO scientist, was one of the researchers. She says the result of the study was positive. It showed that “the long-lasting nets that are being used all throughout sub-Saharan Africa are still working.” She says that finding showed that there needs to be an increase in the supply of nets. And she adds, health workers should “make sure that everybody who’s living in at-risk areas is sleeping under a net and using the net correctly.”

Mosquitoes have developed a resistance to the chemicals in the bed nets. But Dr. Knox says the netting still can offer protection against the disease.

“So a mosquito could land on a net and, while it wouldn’t die immediately, what it would do is continue to search on the net for holes so that it can penetrate6 and go underneath7 and bite the person beneath the net. In the process of searching on the net, it contacts the net’s surface and absorbs insecticide. And as it absorbs that insecticide, it would eventually take on a lethal8 dose, which would kill that mosquito. So even if they don’t die immediately, the searching process would mean that eventually they may die.”

Dr. Knox says there is an “urgent need for new and improved malaria-fighting tools.” But she says until they are developed and deployed9, officials believe the insecticidal nets will continue to be the main way malaria is prevented.

As part of the study, researchers in Sudan covered the walls of homes with an insecticide made from chemicals that differed from those used in bed nets. They say that step reduced infections by an additional 50 percent, compared with using only long-lasting insecticidal nets.

Dr. Knox says the insecticides used to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes should not cause health problems for people.

“All of the chemicals that are being applied10 broadly across sub-Saharan Africa have been through a very strict safety testing to get the WHO recommendation that would allow their usage. So there aren’t any concerns that the current insecticides that (manufacturers) have been using in the nets, nor are there concerns that the sprays that are being used on the wall, if they’re being used in the correct way.”

The World Health Organization says long-lasting insecticidal nets are one of the most important parts of malaria control efforts in African countries south of the Sahara Desert. That part of the continent has 90 percent of the world’s malaria infections.

The WHO says availability of the nets in the area rose from two percent in 2000 to 53 percent in 2015.

Words in This Story

insecticide – n. a chemical substance that is used to kill insects

net – n. a device that is used for catching11 or holding things or for keeping things out of a space and that is made of pieces of string, rope, wire, etc., woven together with spaces in between; a net that is placed over something (such as a bed) in order to keep out mosquitoes

absorb – v. to take in (something, such as a liquid) in a natural or gradual way

lethal – adj. causing or able to cause death

apply – v. to put or spread (something) on a surface, a part of the body, etc.


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1 malaria B2xyb     
n.疟疾
参考例句:
  • He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
  • Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。
2 resistant 7Wvxh     
adj.(to)抵抗的,有抵抗力的
参考例句:
  • Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
  • They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。
3 hygiene Kchzr     
n.健康法,卫生学 (a.hygienic)
参考例句:
  • Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
  • He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。
4 parasite U4lzN     
n.寄生虫;寄生菌;食客
参考例句:
  • The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
  • I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫,我要自己养活自己。
5 parasites a8076647ef34cfbbf9d3cb418df78a08     
寄生物( parasite的名词复数 ); 靠他人为生的人; 诸虫
参考例句:
  • These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的,而与寄生虫无关。
  • Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。
6 penetrate juSyv     
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解
参考例句:
  • Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
  • The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。
7 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
8 lethal D3LyB     
adj.致死的;毁灭性的
参考例句:
  • A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
  • She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。
9 deployed 4ceaf19fb3d0a70e329fcd3777bb05ea     
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用
参考例句:
  • Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
  • The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。
10 applied Tz2zXA     
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用
参考例句:
  • She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
  • This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。
11 catching cwVztY     
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。

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