VOA标准英语2011--Rotavirus Kills 500,000 Children Annually Despite Vaccine

Rotavirus Kills 500,000 Children Annually¹ Despite Vaccine²

 

Vaccines³ against rotavirus, a leading cause of diarrhea-related deaths among young children, first became available in 2006. However, a new study indicates vaccination⁴ has been slow to blunt the spread of the infection.

The study combines findings from numerous other studies as well as data collected in a World Health Organization-coordinated program, the Global Rotavirus Surveillance Network.

Study co-author Umesh Parashar, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says rotavirus infection is common throughout the world.

But he points out that children in richer countries usually get proper treatment if they get sick.

"In contrast, in developing countries, you get a lot more fatal outcomes," he says. "And this latest analysis that we have just completed, indicates there are about 453,000 deaths from rotavirus diarrhea globally."

Of the nearly half-million rotavirus deaths each year among children younger than age five, India alone accounted for almost 100,000. Add in Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and those five nations account for more than half the rotavirus deaths worldwide.

A Sudanese child receives the rotavirus vaccine.

Researchers wanted to establish a baseline of rotavirus-related deaths prior to the introduction of vaccines, which were licensed⁵ in 2006 but were just starting to be used in the timeframe covered by the study. Vaccinated⁶ populations were not included in this study.

Parashar says the vaccines were initially⁷ limited to more developed countries, because more testing was needed before they could be used in resource-poor settings.

"In 2009, we actually had data available from these clinical trials in Africa and Asia, and then the World Health Organization expanded to a global recommendation for rotavirus vaccines. So the vaccines are just about to be rolled out over the next two years."

The authors of this new paper say that as the vaccine is rolled out in the developing countries, rotavirus-related deaths should be substantially reduced.

"And so it really highlights the need to introduce these vaccines so we can really reap the full reward of vaccination in reducing diarrheal mortality."

Umesh Parashar and colleagues published the results of their study online in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

1 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

2 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。

3 vaccines   

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。

4 vaccination   

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。

5 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

6 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。