The World Health Organization is using a new combination of drugs to treat human African trypanosomiasis disease, also known as sleeping sickness. The drugs nifurtimox an eflornithine will be given out

in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative say the new treatment has fewer side effects. It is also more effective and less costly than the drugs traditionally used.

In addition, the new treatment reduces the number of injections needed. And it shortens the amount of time patients must spend in the hospital. Sleeping sickness threatens millions of people in thirty-six countries in Africa. Most live in poor rural areas. The disease is caused by the trypanosoma parasite. It is spread to humans through the bite of infected tsetse flies.



Common signs of sleeping sickness include fever, headaches, extreme tiredness and pain in the muscles and joints. Early identification of the disease may be difficult because many infected people do not show any immediate symptoms. Over time, the parasites invade the central nervous system. The disease causes sleep disorders, mental confusion, personality changes, speech problems, seizures and coma. If left untreated, sleeping sickness kills. The World Health Organization estimates that about sixty thousand people are currently infected with the disease. It develops in two different forms. Trypanosoma gambiense is responsible for ninety percent of the reported cases of sleeping sickness. People infected with this form may develop the disease over many years without any major symptoms. The disease develops more quickly over a few weeks or months in people infected with trypanosoma rhodesiense.



Until now the drug melarsoprol was used to treat patients in the advanced stage of sleeping sickness. But the drug requires many painful injections several times a day for several weeks. It also causes bad side effects, some of which can be deadly. In Uganda, a new study has confirmed earlier research linking the spread of sleeping sickness to infected farm animals. The writers of the study have called for stronger rules requiring cattle to be treated before being sold at market. The study was published in the Public Library of Science.



And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.



一、全文翻译



世界卫生组织现在使用一种新型的药物组合来治疗人类非洲睡眠病，也叫做昏睡病。这种硝呋莫司依洛尼塞药物将在乌干达和刚果民主共和国进行分发。被忽略疾病药物研发组织(Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative)官员表示，这种新的治疗方法副作用较少，而且相对于传统药物来说，效果更好，成本更低。此外，这种新的治疗方法减少了所需的注射次数，缩短了病人在医院花费的时间。昏睡病威胁着非洲36个国家的数百万人口，其中大部分居住在贫穷的农村地区。这种疾病由锥体虫属寄生虫导致，通过感染了疾病的采采蝇叮咬传播。



昏睡病的普遍症状包括发烧，头痛，极度疲倦，肌肉和关节疼痛。这种疾病的早期诊断比较困难，因为许多感染疾病的病人不会立即表现出症状。随着时间的推移，寄生虫入侵了中枢神经系统。这种疾病导致睡眠障碍，精神错乱，人格障碍，语言问题，突发疾病和昏迷。如果不进行治疗，昏睡病会致命。世界卫生组织估计，目前大约有6万人感染昏睡病。其中90%的报告病例是由冈比亚锥虫导致。感染这种寄生虫的病人可能多年之内不会表现出任何症状。而感染了罗得西亚锥虫的人发病速度更快，几周或几个月内就会表现出症状。



目前为止，一般使用硫胂密胺对昏睡病晚期病人进行治疗。但是这种疾病要求病人每天接受多次痛苦的注射，一直持续几周时间，还会产生严重的副作用，一些甚至会致命。在乌干达，一项新的研究证实，早期的研究将昏睡病的传播归咎于感染疾病的农田动物。该研究的作者呼吁牲畜在市场进行出售之前进行更加严格的检测。该研究发表在《科学公共图书馆》上。



二、词汇学习

1.combinationn.组合,合并,联合

例句：He had forgotten the combination of the safe.

他忘记了保险箱密码。

2.costlya.昂贵的,豪华的,价值高的

例句：The general's decision to invade was a costly mistake.

将军作出的入侵决定是个代价惨重的错误。

3.shorten v.弄短,缩短,减少

例句：She shortened the skirt by an inch.

她把裙子缩短了一英寸。

4.tirednessn.疲劳,疲倦

例句：Tiredness and despair were etched into his face.

疲乏与失望刻在他的脸上。

5.identificationn.鉴定, 验明, 认出，辨认

例句：The identification of rabies virus has saved many lives.

狂犬病病毒的确认挽救了许多人的性命。

6.symptomn.症状,征候,征兆

例句：The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.

医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

7.advanceda.晚期的，后期的