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VOA慢速英语2021 专家想弄清楚印度新冠病例下降的原因

时间:2021-02-27 18:17:52

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Health experts in India are seeking to find out what caused a major drop in coronavirus cases in recent months.

印度的卫生专家正在寻找过去几个月新冠病毒病例大幅下降的主要原因。

New infections had climbed for months across India last year, but then began falling in September. Now the country is reporting about 11,000 new cases a day. That is down from nearly 100,000 during the worst period of the crisis.

去年印度各地的新增感染病例已经连续几个月攀升,但随后在9月份开始下降。现在,该国每天报告大约1.1万例新增病例。这比危机最严重时期的近10万例有所下降。

Experts studying the virus have suggested many possible explanations for the sudden drop, which happened in nearly every part of India. Two possible explanations are that some areas of the country may have reached “herd1 immunity2” or that Indians may have some preexisting protection from the coronavirus. The term herd immunity describes a situation in which enough people in a population are resistant3 to a disease so that it cannot spread.

研究这种病毒的专家对印度每个地方都有发生的新增病例突然下降提供了许多种可能的解释。两种可能的解释是,该国的某些地区可能已经达到了群体免疫,或是印度人可能早就对新冠病毒存在某种防护。群体免疫是指人口中有足够多的人对某种疾病具有抵抗力,因此这种疾病无法传播。

The Indian government has said it believes the decrease happened, at least partly, because of mask-wearing across the country. Wearing a mask in public is a rule in India and is strongly enforced in some cities. But experts have noted4 that virus cases also dropped in areas where mask-wearing was less common.

印度政府称其认为病例下降至少有部分原因是因为全国各地佩戴口罩所致。印度在公共场合戴口罩是一项规定,某些城市执行非常严格。但是专家指出,一些戴口罩不太常见的地区,新冠病毒病例也有所减少。

Finding out causes for the drop could help officials better control COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. India has reported nearly 11 million COVID-19 cases and over 155,000 deaths.

找出病例下降的原因有助于官员们更好地控制由新冠病毒引发的新冠肺炎。印度报告了近1100万例新冠肺炎病例,死亡超过15.5万例。

Dr. Shahid Jameel studies viruses at India’s Ashoka University. “If we don’t know the reason, you could unknowingly be doing things that could lead to a flare-up,” he told The Associated Press (AP).

沙希德·贾米尔博士在印度阿育王大学研究病毒。他对美联社表示:“如果我们不知道原因,那么可能会不知不觉地做出一些导致病毒爆发的事情。”

India, like other countries, misses many infections, and there have been questions about how it counts its virus deaths. But pressure on the country’s hospitals also dropped in recent months. This suggests that the virus’ spread is slowing.

与其它国家一样,印度也错过了许多感染病例,人们对如何统计该病毒导致的死亡案例存有疑问。但是最近几个月该国医院的压力也有所减轻。这表明该病毒的传播正在放缓。

Recorded cases reached 9 million in November. At that time, official information showed that nearly 90 percent of all critical care beds with ventilators in New Delhi were full. This week, just 16 percent of those beds were occupied.

印度录得病例在11月达到了900万例。当时官方数据显示,新德里所有配备呼吸机的重症监护床有将近90%都已住满。本周,这些床位只有16%被占用。

Experts believe the drop cannot be the result of COVID-19 vaccines5 because India only began giving the injections in January. They say the effects of the vaccination6 program will only be seen later.

专家认为,病例下降不是新冠疫苗导致的结果,因为印度1月份刚开始接种疫苗。他们表示,疫苗接种的效果只有以后才能看到。

Vineeta Bal studies how the body fights disease at India’s National Institute of Immunology. She told the AP she thinks the drop in virus cases could be related to large areas reaching herd immunity.

维涅塔·巴尔在印度国家免疫研究所研究人体如何抵抗疾病。她对美联社表示,她认为新冠病毒病例下降可能跟大范围地区达到群体免疫有关。

But other experts have warned that even if herd immunity in some places is partly responsible for the drop, the population as a whole remains7 vulnerable. This means people must continue to take measures to protect themselves.

但是也有专家警告称,即使某些地区的群体免疫是造成病例下降的部分原因,但人口整体仍然很脆弱。这意味着人们必须继续采取措施保护自己。

New research suggests that people who got sick with one form of the virus may be able to get infected again with a new version. For example, Bal pointed8 to a recent study in Manaus, Brazil. It estimated that over 75 percent of people there had antibodies for the virus in October -- before cases saw a sharp rise again in January. “I don’t think anyone has the final answer,” she said.

最新研究表明,感染一种病毒的人士可能会再次感染病毒新变种。例如,巴尔提到了巴西马瑙斯最近进行的一项研究。该研究估计在今年1月病例急剧上升之前,该地区75%人口在去年10月份携带该病毒的抗体。她说:“我认为没有人有最终答案。”

Experts say another possibility is that many Indians get exposed to a series of diseases throughout their lives. That could help build up immunity against new viruses. Among diseases common in India are cholera9, typhoid and tuberculosis10.

专家表示,另一种可能是,许多印度人一生都暴露于一系列疾病当中。这有助于增强抵抗新病毒的能力。印度的常见疾病包括霍乱、伤寒和肺结核。

“If the COVID virus can be controlled in the nose and throat, before it reaches the lungs, it doesn’t become as serious,” said Dr. Jameel of Ashoka University. “Innate immunity works at this level, by trying to reduce the viral infection and stop it from getting to the lungs,” he added.

阿育王大学的贾米尔博士表示:“如果可以在病毒到达肺部之前,在鼻腔和咽喉中加以控制,它就不会变得那么严重。”他还说:“先天免疫可以通过试图降低病毒感染并阻止其进入肺部来达到这种效果。”

Even with the major drop in infections, Indian health officials are worried about new virus versions, or variants11, slowing efforts to fight the coronavirus. Scientists have identified several new variants in the country, including some blamed for causing new infections in people who already had an earlier virus version.

即使感染大幅下降,印度卫生官员仍然担心病毒变种会延缓抗击新冠病毒的进程。科学家们已经在该国发现了几种新变种,其中一些变种被认为在感染过较早版本病毒的人当中造成了新的感染。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 herd Pd8zb     
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起
参考例句:
  • She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
  • He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见,只是人云亦云。
2 immunity dygyQ     
n.优惠;免除;豁免,豁免权
参考例句:
  • The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
  • He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。
3 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。
4 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
5 vaccines c9bb57973a82c1e95c7cd0f4988a1ded     
疫苗,痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
  • The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。
6 vaccination bKGzM     
n.接种疫苗,种痘
参考例句:
  • Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
  • Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。
7 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
8 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
9 cholera rbXyf     
n.霍乱
参考例句:
  • The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
  • Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。
10 tuberculosis bprym     
n.结核病,肺结核
参考例句:
  • People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
  • Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。
11 variants 796e0e5ff8114b13b2e23cde9d3c6904     
n.变体( variant的名词复数 );变种;变型;(词等的)变体
参考例句:
  • Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
  • Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样,病毒也有变种,一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

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