SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Influenza and Bird Flu

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Influenza¹ and Bird Flu
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, January 27, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty². In February, the World Health Organization will hold a series of meetings in Geneva, Switzerland. Health experts and representatives of drug makers³ will discuss the newest developments in the continual fight against influenza.

VOICE ONE:

 
In Thailand, workers catch chickens to be killed as part of the effort to contain the spread of bird flu.
The flu -- in humans and birds -- is our subject this week.

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VOICE ONE:

Influenza is a common infection of the nose and throat, and sometimes the lungs. It is caused by a virus which passes from one person to another.

The flu causes muscle pain, sudden high body temperature, breathing problems and weakness. It is most common in the winter months.

Generally, people feel better after a week or two. But the flu can kill. It is especially dangerous to the very young, the very old and those with a weak defense⁴ system against disease.

VOICE TWO:

Historical records have described sicknesses believed to be influenza for more than two-thousand years. The Roman historian⁵ Livy described such a disease attacking the Roman army. People in fifteenth century Italy thought the sickness was caused by the influence of the stars. So they named it "influenza."

In seventeen-eighty-one, influenza went from Europe to North America to the West Indies and Latin America. It spread in Asia in eighteen-twenty-nine, then again in eighteen-thirty-six. It also traveled to Indonesia, Russia and the United States.

In eighteen-eighty-nine, the flu began in Central Asia, spread north into Russia, east to China and west to Europe. Later, it affected⁶ people in North America and Africa. Experts say two-hundred-fifty-thousand people died in Europe in that flu pandemic. Worldwide, the number was at least one-million.

VOICE ONE:

But the deadliest outbreak of influenza on record involved a flu that first appeared in Spain. The so-called Spanish flu killed between twenty-million and fifty-million people around the world in nineteen-eighteen and nineteen-nineteen. Even young, healthy people became sick and died in just a few days.

Times when diseases spread throughout the world are called pandemics. The W-H-O says the next flu pandemic is likely to kill as many as six-hundred-fifty-thousand people in industrial countries. But it says the greatest effect will likely be in developing countries. The agency notes that health care resources in those countries are limited, and populations are weakened by poor health and diet.

Researchers say the new kind of flu will appear unexpectedly. They will not have enough time to identify it and produce a vaccine⁷. That is why they are developing faster ways to produce vaccines⁸.

Eighty years ago, the flu virus took months to spread around the world. Today, airplane travel means a virus can spread around the world within days. Experts say another virus like the one that appeared in nineteen-eighteen could be as dangerous as any disease ever known.

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VOICE TWO:

Medical experts have identified three major kinds of flu. They call them type A, B and C. Type C is the least serious. People may get it and not even know it. But researchers study the other two kinds very closely. Viruses change to survive. This can make it difficult for the body to recognize and fight an infection.

A person who has suffered one kind of flu usually cannot develop that same kind again. The defense system produces antibodies. These substances stay in the blood and destroy the virus if it appears again. But the body may not recognize a flu virus that has even a small change.

VOICE ONE:

There are some antiviral drugs that doctors may use to treat influenza. But health officials say the best thing is to get a yearly vaccine to prevent the flu.

Each year, medical researchers work to develop vaccines to prevent the flu from infecting people. They meet in February to discuss which kinds of flu viruses to include in the next formulation. They try to decide which vaccines will be most useful in fighting against the kinds of flu they think will appear months later.

For this flu season, the vaccine chosen a year ago did not include the virus known as the Fujian strain. It came from Fujian province in China. It appeared late. To avoid a delay, it was not included in the vaccine.

VOICE TWO:

No one knows yet exactly how much protection the vaccine provided people this flu season. The northern flu season usually does not begin until December. This season, however, people started to get the flu in October. The World Health Organization says the majority of cases identified so far have involved the Fujian strain.

As of last week, the W-H-O reported that influenza remained widespread in many countries in central and eastern Europe. Cases also increased in Italy and Japan. And the flu remained widespread in some parts of Canada and the United States.

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VOICE ONE:

Humans are not alone. Chickens and some other animals also get the flu. Since December, parts of Asia have had high levels of bird flu. Avian influenza virus has jumped to some people. But direct contact with chickens or their waste has been suspected. The World Health Organization says there has been no evidence that the virus has spread person-to-person.

Researchers are concerned about what could happen if the virus mixes genetic⁹ material with human flu virus. The new virus might then spread from person to person. People would become infected with proteins their bodies have never seen before. So they would have no defense.

VOICE TWO:

Scientists are especially concerned about Asia, where many human influenza viruses first appear.

In nineteen-ninety-seven, an outbreak of bird flu in Hong Kong infected eighteen people and killed six. Workers killed more than one-million chickens to control the threat.

Last year in Hong Kong, bird flu infected two people and killed one. Also last year, a different flu virus infected some agricultural workers and killed one person in the Netherlands.

In the current outbreak, the W-H-O says Vietnam and South Korea have the first epidemics¹¹ ever documented in those countries. Japan has its first epidemic¹⁰ since nineteen-twenty-five.

VOICE ONE:

But Vietnam and Thailand had the only human cases confirmed as of Monday. At least seven people in Vietnam have developed bird flu. Six of them died. Of those, five were children. In Thailand a six-year-old boy became the first death in that country. Thailand is the fourth largest exporter of chicken in the world.

Announcements of flu outbreaks in chickens expanded in recent days to also include Indonesia and Cambodia. Pakistan and Taiwan have both reported outbreaks of less serious forms.

Health officials say chicken and eggs that have been well cooked should be safe to eat. The W-H-O says poultry¹² should be cooked to seventy degrees Celsius¹³. And the agency advise people to wash their hands after touching¹⁴ poultry products.

VOICE TWO:

Millions of chickens have died of bird flu, or been killed in an effort to contain the spread. The World Health Organization says it is also working to develop a vaccine to protect people from the bird virus.

The agency, part of the United Nations, says the effort requires the use of a new technology. This is called "reverse¹⁵ genetics." Scientists collect the virus from human victims. Then they mix genetic information from that virus with a virus grown in a laboratory.

The resulting virus is recognized by the defense system in the body and causes a protective reaction. Drug companies could then use this virus to produce large amounts of vaccine. But the W-H-O says a vaccine may not be ready for several months to several years.

VOICE ONE:

The World Health Organization says influenza is thought to result in two-hundred-fifty-thousand to five-hundred-thousand deaths a year. As many as five-million people get severe cases of the flu. Lost productivity¹⁶ adds up to great economic costs. So medical and agricultural officials say stopping the spread of influenza is one of their most important jobs year after year.

(THEME)

VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹⁷ was our producer. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 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。

8 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。

9 genetic   

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。

10 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

11 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

12 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?

13 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

14 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

15 reverse   

v.推翻，颠倒，反向；n.反面，逆境；adj.反向的

参考例句：

• His answer was just the reverse of what I expected.他的回答正好与我期望的相反。
• Please reverse the positions of two pictures.请把两张图片的位置倒转过来。

16 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。

17 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。