金融時報:中世紀致命瘟疫再臨人間

中世紀致命瘟疫再臨人間

作為人類歷史上最嚴重的瘟疫之一，黑死病在很多人眼里已經(jīng)成了歷史的塵埃，但人類與瘟疫的戰(zhàn)爭還遠未結束。在一些被我們忽視的角落，鼠疫和霍亂正在卷土重來……

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

thence[ðens] 從那里, 因此

affliction[?'fl?k?n] 痛苦, 苦難

pestilence['pest?l?ns] 瘟疫，毒害物

gruesome['ɡru?s?m] 可怕的

pathogen ['pæθ?d??n] 病原體

malnourished[?mæl'n?r??t] 營養(yǎng)不良的

Medieval diseases are making a grim comeback（594 words）

By Anjana Ahuja

The Black Death was little short of a bacterial apocalypse. The outbreak of bubonic plague, imported along the Silk Road, is thought to have killed between 25m and 50m people as it rampaged through 14th-century Europe. The disease thence resurfaced sporadically: the Great Plague of London, for example, felled a fifth of city dwellers in the 1660s.

While the plague seems to us a medieval affliction, it has never fully disappeared. On average, about 500 cases are documented globally each year, mostly in Africa, South America and India. The infection is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.

Now the World Health Organization has noted an unusually large outbreak of plague in Madagascar. One case has also been reported in the Seychelles. The threat is very likely to be contained but the resurgence of this historic pestilence demonstrates the fragile biological stand-off between human and bacterium.

Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is usually carried by rat fleas and passed on to humans through biting. The resulting infection adheres to a gruesome timetable. It takes between one and seven days for a fever and nausea to develop; then come the dreaded “buboes”, or swellings in the groin and armpits, which give bubonic plague its name. If the bacteria invade the bloodstream, necrosis sets in; the limbs darken as they rot. Left untreated, the condition carries a 30-60 per cent chance of death.

Should the infected pus reach the lungs, bubonic plague can become pneumonic plague. This rare form, even deadlier than its bubonic cousin, is highly infectious because it can be transmitted through airborne droplets.

The epidemic in Madagascar is, alas, mostly pneumonic: it totals nearly 700 cases, 57 deaths and 11 distinct strains of Yersinia pestis. It garnered special attention because it arrived in August, earlier than expected (the endemic plague season usually runs from September to April) and because cases appeared in historically unaffected regions. The WHO has released funding for antibiotics and surveillance.

The disease has spread beyond the island: a visitor has been identified, in his home country of the Seychelles, as a probable case of pneumonic plague. His contacts have received antibiotics. Meanwhile, Air Seychelles has suspended flights to and from Madagascar.

The Madagascan outbreak follows a puzzling 2016 episode that unfolded in a remote, unstable part of the country. Reaching the region, Befotaka in southeastern Madagascar, requires a two-day drive and three days of walking. In 2016, health officials and scientists twice visited Befotaka to take samples, treat patients and carry out pest control (the black rats known to spread the plague can sometimes be found living in houses). Both visits had to be cut short because the teams received threats. A third visit this year revealed 126 suspected cases of plague.

It is no coincidence the disease has found fertile pickings in a troubled part of the country characterised by the lack of clean water, electricity, nutrition and basic health provision. History shows that natural disaster, poverty and war, along with the absence or destruction of protective infrastructure, threaten our ability to keep pathogens at bay.

The world bears this out today: war-torn Yemen is in the grip of the worst cholera epidemic of modern times. More than 700,000 Yemeni, mostly children, are affected. Many of them are malnourished, complicating treatment.

Meanwhile, drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis have emerged worldwide. Unvaccinated children, particularly in conflict zones and impoverished regions, are succumbing to conquerable diseases such as polio and rubella. The haunting truth is that future generations are still being struck down by diseases of the past.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內容，完成以下自測題目：

1.Which of the following statements is true according to the article ?

A.Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important to treat the plague.

B.The Black Death killed between 25m and 50m people in 14th-century Europe.

C.The plague was eradicated after medieval time, but now it resurface again.

D.WHO reported an large outbreak of plague in Madagascar and Seychelles.

答案(1)

2.Which of following is the most dangerous to human being ?

A.Bacterium Yersinia pestis.

B.Bubonic plague.

C.Pneumonic plague.

D.The Black Death.

答案(2)

3.The endemic plague season usually begins in ____.

A.April.

B.May.

C.August.

D.September.

答案(3)

4.Why does the plague outbreak occur in Befotaka according to the author?

A.Because Befotaka has been ravaged by war and poverty for decades.

B.Because people in Befotaka lack basic utilities and health provision.

C.Because drug-resistant forms of plague have emerged in Befotaka.

D.Because health scientists faced with threats cannot enter Befotaka.

答案(4)

* * *

(1)答案：A.Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important to treat the plague.

解釋：鼠疫并沒有完全消失，但如今，只要能及早診斷，感染瘟疫病毒是可以用抗生素治愈的。

(2)答案：C.Pneumonic plague.

解釋：當病毒感染肺部后，鼠疫就變成了肺鼠疫。這種罕見的變種對人類更加致命，因為它可以通過空氣飛沫傳播，更具傳染性。

(3)答案：D.September.

解釋：鼠疫的流行季節(jié)一般是從九月到四月。

(4)答案：B.Because people in Befotaka lack basic utilities and health provision.

解釋：疫情出現(xiàn)在這一混亂的地區(qū)并非是巧合，這里缺乏干凈的水源、電力、營養(yǎng)和基礎的衛(wèi)生服務。