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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Fight to End Polio a Story of Unexpected Problems, but Also Progress

Over the years, polio experts have had to learn to deal with surprises. Transcript1 of radio broadcast:

03 March 2008

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. On our program this week, we will examine efforts to defeat the disease polio.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Pakistan is working to protect more than thirty million children from polio. Health workers are giving vaccine2 against the disease to children younger than five years.

Health officials in Pakistan plan to complete the current vaccination3 campaign next month. But the government says efforts against polio are always in progress. The efforts are part of an international campaign to stop the disease.

The struggle against polio has suffered unexpected problems. But it has also made major progress.

VOICE TWO:

The future also looks hopeful. A top polio expert at the World Health Organization has praised success with a vaccine against the fastest spreading kind of polio. Doctor David Heymann believes that this most threatening polio could be defeated this year. He also says vaccines4 are being developed to prevent a slower spreading version of the disease.

Prevention is especially important because antibiotic5 drugs cannot help after someone is infected. Antibiotics6 can kill only bacteria, not viruses.

The virus called wild poliovirus passes freely from person to person. Wild poliovirus spreads through fluids in the mouth, waste material and water systems. Another kind of polio is rare. Vaccine-derived, or vaccine-linked, polio strikes when harmful genetic7 changes affect the vaccine.

VOICE ONE:

Polio is mainly a children’s disease. But adults also get it. Many people are infected without knowing it. They may just have a higher than normal body temperature and pain in the throat. But when polio attacks the central nervous system, patients can be paralyzed. They may not be able to stand or walk. When the disease affects breathing, some patients die.

Polio paralyzed an estimated three hundred fifty thousand patients in nineteen eighty-eight. That same year, a coalition8 of health workers started the Global Polio Eradication9 Initiative. By last year, the number of new paralytic10 polio cases dropped to about seven hundred sixty-five.

VOICE TWO:

The Initiative coalition includes national governments and UNICEF -- the United Nations Children’s Fund. Another partner is the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still another is the volunteer service organization Rotary11 International. Other groups also take part.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Scientists say three polioviruses cause wild polio. Type one is the most dangerous. Type one can infect many people in a short time. It has caused about eighty-five percent of all polio cases. Type two wild polio disappeared worldwide in nineteen ninety-nine. Cases caused by type three poliovirus do not spread as fast as polio caused by type one.

Today, polio continues to strike people in Nigeria, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In two thousand three, Nigeria stopped providing vaccine against polio for almost a year.

VOICE TWO:

False reports about the vaccine caused the stoppage. The reports said the vaccine gave people the disease AIDS. Other reports said it made people unable to have children. Nigeria reported many cases of polio after the vaccinations12 ended. The disease also spread to other nations.

By last August, however, the polio news in the nation seemed hopeful. Nigeria had reported a major reduction in polio cases after January. But then came an unwelcome report. Sixty-nine children in the northern part of the country had developed paralytic polio.

VOICE ONE:

Some of the infected children had received Sabin oral polio vaccine. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative provided the vaccine to young children. It is given by mouth several times during a child's earliest years.

The Sabin oral polio vaccine contains a live but weakened version of poliovirus. The weakened virus protects well against type one poliovirus. But in Nigeria, some of the vaccine had made a rare and harmful genetic change.

The children started getting sick with polio in two thousand six, or even earlier. But these cases were not announced until late September, two thousand seven.

Critics say the news should have been reported quickly. They say the delayed announcement helped to support the polio vaccine suspicions that had stopped vaccinations several years before.

VOICE TWO:

Rotary International made a public statement about the new polio cases in October of two thousand seven. The group said the vaccine did not, in itself, cause the children to get the disease.

Doctor Heymann of the W.H.O. said the children with vaccine-linked polio were more likely than others to get infected. He said not enough vaccine had been provided in their area. The doctor noted13 that sixty of the children had not received any vaccine. Or, he said, they had not received enough vaccine to protect them.

Critics have questioned the continued use of the Sabin oral polio vaccine in the international campaign against polio. They say its link to infection with the disease makes the vaccine unacceptable. But Rotary International notes the vaccination's success over the years. It says the oral polio vaccine has reduced polio cases by ninety nine percent since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative began.

VOICE ONE:

Eight years ago, American health officials stopped saying people should be given the Sabin oral polio vaccine. They said the reason was to end the possibility of paralytic polio linked to the vaccine.

Olen Kew is an expert in viruses for the Centers for Disease Control. He led a team that studied vaccine-linked polio in two thousand five. He says the W.H.O. is creating a program to develop a vaccine for use after polio is defeated. The new vaccine would not contain a live poliovirus. It could not cause polio.

VOICE TWO:

Jonas Salk developed the first major polio vaccine in the nineteen fifties. Albert Sabin then developed the Sabin oral polio vaccine in the nineteen sixties. Doctor Salk’s polio vaccine was injected. An improved version of this vaccine is now the one used in the United States.

The improved Salk vaccine contains inactive viruses. It cannot cause polio. But experts say the oral polio vaccine works faster against the spread of type one polio. And the Sabin vaccine is less costly14. Health care workers who direct its use need little training.

W.H.O. officials say only the oral poliovirus vaccine can quickly build very high body defenses against the disease. They say only this kind of vaccine can stop polio in developing countries with warm climates.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative says it will continue to use the oral polio vaccine.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Over the years, polio experts have had to learn to deal with the unexpected. New cases resulting from type one poliovirus decreased in India last year. But the disease caused by type three poliovirus increased in two Indian states.

Almost three hundred people in Uttar Pradesh got polio. Many others became infected in Bihar.

Devendra Khander leads the W.H.O. polio project in Bihar. Doctor Khander says many people there live close together in unhealthful conditions. He says the same is true for Uttar Pradesh. The doctor says not enough children have received polio vaccine. He also says flooding in Bihar made the situation worse.

VOICE TWO:

The Indian capital, New Delhi, was free of type three poliovirus cases for about five years. But last year, the disease was identified in two children. Doctor Heymann of the W.H.O says a prevention called monovalent oral polio vaccine has been shown effective in treating type three poliovirus.

The news about polio, then, is hopeful. But the Initiative to Eradicate15 Polio always needs money to launch vaccination campaigns.

VOICE ONE:

Help may come from a two hundred million dollar award by an agency of Rotary International. Late last year, the Rotary Foundation announced a partnership16 with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation has offered a one hundred million dollar matching grant to the Rotary Foundation. Over three years, Rotary will raise money to equal each of those dollars.

The money can be used to provide more children a healthy future, a future without polio.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program written by Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I’m Shirley Griffith.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 vaccine Ki1wv     
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。
3 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。
4 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。
5 antibiotic KNJzd     
adj.抗菌的;n.抗生素
参考例句:
  • The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
  • Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。
6 antibiotics LzgzQT     
n.(用作复数)抗生素;(用作单数)抗生物质的研究;抗生素,抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
  • The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。
7 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
8 coalition pWlyi     
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合
参考例句:
  • The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
  • Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
9 eradication otUzfH     
n.根除
参考例句:
  • The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
  • This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。
10 paralytic LmDzKM     
adj. 瘫痪的 n. 瘫痪病人
参考例句:
  • She was completely paralytic last night.她昨天晚上喝得酩酊大醉。
  • She rose and hobbled to me on her paralytic legs and kissed me.她站起来,拖着她那麻痹的双腿一瘸一拐地走到我身边,吻了吻我。
11 rotary fXsxE     
adj.(运动等)旋转的;轮转的;转动的
参考例句:
  • The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
  • A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。
12 vaccinations ed61d339e2970fa63aee4b5ce757cc44     
n.种痘,接种( vaccination的名词复数 );牛痘疤
参考例句:
  • Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时,我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 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。
14 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
15 eradicate Ui1zn     
v.根除,消灭,杜绝
参考例句:
  • These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
  • They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。
16 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

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