Bird Flu Spreads in Several Asian Countries

Bird Flu Spreads in Several Asian Countries

Katherine Maria

The United Nations health agency has confirmed a fourth bird flu death in Vietnam, and says an increased number of patients are seeking treatment for flu-like symptoms in the country's capital. Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among chickens in several Asian countries.

The World Health Organization says all four confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in Vietnam have been fatal. On Saturday the agency confirmed that the H5N1, or bird flu, virus, was found in samples taken from a five-year-old boy who died January 8.

Bob Dietz is the spokesman for a team of WHO experts investigating the outbreak in Vietnam.

"We do have one more confirmed case of H5N1," he said. "This was confirmed using lab results from within Vietnam."

Bird flu has been detected in poultry¹ farms across Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, and millions of chickens have died or been killed in recent days.

But all reports of confirmed and suspected cases in humans have been concentrated in Vietnam, where health officials and doctors have reported a steady increase in suspected cases each day.

Mr. Dietz says there is also a noticeable rise in the number of people seeking treatment for flu-like symptoms in two Hanoi hospitals.

"We are seeing an increased number of respiratory illness cases," said Bob Dietz. "We don't known whether that's because there is more respiratory illness, or it's because cases are being referred to these two large significant hospitals."

The first three confirmed cases were discovered in Hanoi, but the latest victim lived about 100 kilometers south of the capital city in Nam Dinh province.

Mr. Dietz says millions of chickens in Vietnam alone have been slaughtered² in efforts to contain the disease's spread.

The first known cases of bird flu in humans were reported in 1997 in Hong Kong. Six of the 18 people infected then died of the disease.

U.N. scientists say the bird flu virus currently affecting Vietnam has not begun to spread between humans. They suggest the victims caught the disease directly from chickens.

The emergence³ of bird flu in the region comes as health experts in China prepare for a fresh outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome⁴ in the country's south.

There, three people have been confirmed to have SARS, but experts are unsure how they caught the disease. Unlike bird flu, SARS can spread between people who are in close and sustained contact.

 

注释：

symptom [5simptEm] n. （医）症状，征兆

World Health Organization 　世界卫生组织

South Korea 　韩国，亚洲东部一国家，位于朝鲜半岛的南端。

concentrate [5kCnsentreit] v. 集中

Hanoi [hA5nCi] 河内，越南首都，位于这个国家北部，红河之上。

respiratory [ris5paiErEtEri] adj. 呼吸的

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 　缩写为SARS，严重急性呼吸系统综合症，即为非典型肺炎。

sustained [sEs5teind] adj. 持续的

1 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

2 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

4 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。