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美国国家公共电台 NPR Flu Season Is Shaping Up To Be A Nasty One, CDC Says

时间:2018-01-15 02:48:42

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ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The flu season is bad this year. That's the message today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein is here with details. Hey, Rob.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE1: Oh, hey, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Health officials did warn us about this. So just how bad is it?

STEIN: It's pretty bad out there, Ari. You know, the flu season has started early. And that's never a good sign. And it really took off early in the south and spread quickly around the country. And the latest data released today from the CDC shows that it's really pretty much everywhere. The flu's pretty much everywhere in the country right now. And it's really intense in dozens of states. And it's reached epidemic2 levels. So the proportion of people who are rushing to their doctors to get treated for the flu is as high as it ever gets in a really bad flu season already. And the percentage of people who are in there - up in the hospital to get treated for the flu, it doubled in the last week alone.

SHAPIRO: Wow.

STEIN: So, you know, we're hearing reports about ERs being overrun in California, pharmacists - pharmacies3 running out of antiviral drugs. And at least 20 kids have already died from the flu this year.

SHAPIRO: Wow. What makes a bad flu season more intense than a regular one?

STEIN: Yeah. So starting early, that's one factor. But a big factor this year is the particular strain of flu that's dominating. It's called the H3N2 strain. And it's notoriously nasty. It's the kind of bug4 that makes more people sick. And when they get sick, they get sicker. And it's especially dangerous for the people who are the most vulnerable to the flu, like kids and older people.

SHAPIRO: Does this just mean that most people didn't get the flu vaccine5?

STEIN: No. The proportion of people who are getting - who've gotten vaccinated6 so far this year is pretty much on track for what it is most years. The problem, again, is this H3N2 strain of the flu. It tends to mutate when the vaccine is being made. And that's exactly what happened this year.

SHAPIRO: Wow.

STEIN: So the vaccine doesn't work as well. And in Australia, which has its flu season right before ours, it looks like it may have only been about 10 percent effective against this strain.

SHAPIRO: Only 10 percent effective?

STEIN: Yeah, only 10 percent. Now, officials in this country are saying look; we think it's going to work better in this country, but they're saying at best it may be around 30 percent effective. So that's leaving a lot of people pretty vulnerable.

SHAPIRO: Suddenly, the suit of armor I thought I was wearing seems a lot less secure.

STEIN: Yeah. Yeah.

SHAPIRO: So is there any point in getting a vaccine in that case?

STEIN: Yes, definitely. There's - people should definitely still get vaccinated. And there are lots of reasons for that. One is, you know, any protection is better than none. And if you get vaccinated - even if you get sick, you might not get as sick as you would've gotten if you hadn't gotten vaccinated. Another reason is that if other strains of the virus start to dominate, the vaccine works better against them. So you'll be protected against those other strains if they start to become more common. And although the season appears to be peaking right now, it could go on for weeks and weeks and weeks. So there's plenty of time for the vaccine to protect you.

SHAPIRO: This all sounds very dire7 - people going to the hospital, people dying. How worried should most Americans be?

STEIN: Well, so, you know, the thing about the flu is that it's notoriously unpredictable. You know, it could go either way. It could be that, you know, the season is peaking now and it could peter out really quickly. And it started earlier. And it could end early. And it could end up in the end just being an average year. But if it goes on for weeks and weeks and weeks, it could end up being the really nasty flu season year that people have been worrying about for a while.

SHAPIRO: You said that the flu can mutate as they're developing the vaccine. Is there a more updated vaccine? Should those of us who got a shot months ago get a new one?

STEIN: No. Unfortunately, there isn't. There's a lot of research going on to try to develop better vaccines8. That's a really intense area of research. And a lot of people are calling for more money to do just that because we need to have a better vaccine they can rely on year after year. But at the moment, unfortunately, that's just not available.

SHAPIRO: Otherwise, just wash your hands a lot, stay home if you're sick, cover your mouth if you cough, all the regular advice.

STEIN: That's right. And that makes a big difference, really.

SHAPIRO: NPR health correspondent Rob Stein, thanks a lot.

STEIN: Oh, sure. Thanks, Ari.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 byline sSXyQ     
n.署名;v.署名
参考例句:
  • His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
  • We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
2 epidemic 5iTzz     
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。
3 pharmacies a19950a91ea1800ed5273a89663d2855     
药店
参考例句:
  • Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
  • Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店,和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网
4 bug 5skzf     
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
参考例句:
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
5 vaccine Ki1wv     
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。
6 vaccinated 8f16717462e6e6db3389d0f736409983     
[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 dire llUz9     
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的
参考例句:
  • There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
  • We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了,但是我们渡过了困难。
8 vaccines c9bb57973a82c1e95c7cd0f4988a1ded     
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。

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