VOA慢速英語: Rare Fungal Meningitis Outbreak in United States

[ti:Rare Fungal Meningitis Outbreak in United States] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:Health Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:03.06]this is the Health Report in Special English. [00:07.12]Health officials in the United States [00:10.44]are attempting to contact patients [00:13.44]who recently received steroid injections for back pain. [00:19.78]That is because the injections [00:22.59]may have been carrying a fungus. [00:26.14]Thousands of patients may be at risk [00:29.45]of developing a rare form of fungal meningitis. [00:34.62]Health officials reported Monday that fifteen people [00:39.49]had died from fungal meningitis linked to steroid shots. [00:45.30]The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said [00:50.47]there were more than two hundred confirmed cases of the disease [00:56.27]in fifteen states. [00:58.78]The majority of the cases were in three states: [01:03.19]Tennessee, Michigan and Virginia. [01:07.42]Meningitis infects membranes [01:11.08]that protect the brain and the spinal cord. [01:16.91]There are five kinds of meningitis. [01:20.78]Fungal meningitis is the rarest form of the disease. [01:26.46]Other forms can result from bacteria, a virus or a parasite. [01:33.83]Last Thursday, officials reported [01:37.13]that tests found evidence of the suspect fungus [01:42.34]in more than fifty vials of the steroid. [01:46.10]They said all those vials were manufactured [01:50.57]by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. [01:55.64]The company has suspended operations [01:59.56]and recalled all of its products for inspection. [02:05.38]Compounding or specialty pharmacies [02:09.45]often custom-mix medicines at levels, and in forms, [02:15.36]that may not be available from other manufacturers. [02:20.64]Under Massachusetts law, [02:23.09]compounding pharmacies are only permitted [02:27.11]to make small amounts of made-to-order prescription drugs. [02:32.56]The patients who developed meningitis [02:36.17]were being treated for back pain. [02:38.73]The Centers for Disease Control says [02:42.09]others who received the injections in their joints [02:46.64]are not thought to be at risk. [02:49.46]John Jernigan of the CDC is investigating the meningitis outbreak. [02:56.28]"CDC is working with state and local health departments [02:59.29]to contact patients who may have received injections [03:02.95]at the facilities who received the recalled lots of this medication [03:06.81]to inform (them) that they, that they may have been exposed, [03:10.07]to find out if they're having symptoms, [03:11.62]and to instruct them to seek health care should they be ill." [03:15.25]Dr. Jernigan says there are many different signs of fungal meningitis. [03:21.36]"Fever, new or worsening headache, sometimes neck stiffness. [03:26.03]We've also seen in a few patients signs and symptoms of stroke, [03:29.83]sudden onset of slurred speech, dizziness, [03:32.74]difficulty walking, sudden weakness." [03:34.29]Health experts say they do not know how many people [03:39.46]will actually become sick. [03:41.57]They say it could take several months for a fungal infection to develop. [03:49.38]And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. [03:54.86]I'm Steve Ember.

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