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End of Guinea Worm in Sight for Carter Center 美前总统卡特功绩:帮助消灭麦地那龙线虫病
ATLANTA, GEORGIA—
Dracunculiasis is a parasitic1 infection that once afflicted2 millions primarily in Africa and parts of South Asia. Thanks to the efforts of former President Jimmy Carter and the Atlanta-based Carter Center working with government health ministries3, the disease historically known as Guinea Worm is on the verge4 of becoming a historical footnote.
During Carter’s August announcement he was battling cancer, he made it clear he has plenty left to do. One big wish:
“I would like for the last Guinea Worm to die before I do," he said.
Guinea Worm is relatively5 unknown in the developed world. But elsewhere, it is a feared parasite6 that infects humans through contaminated drinking water. It grows and causes excruciating pain when emerging through the skin.
The global campaign to wipe out the disease started at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“In 1980 CDC proposed that if we wanted to assess sustainable development, clean water systems around the world, the eradication7 of Guinea Worm would be an indicator8 of whether we’ve been able to do that," said CDC Director Tom Frieden.
In 1986, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the complete eradication of Guinea Worm. That’s when the Carter Center stepped in.
“We started out with 3.6 million cases. And I think we have two cases in South Sudan and one case in Ethiopia and one case in Mali and seven cases in Chad. That’s all the guinea worms in the world, and we know where all of them are," said Carter.
The path to complete eradication depends on Carter Center initiatives to monitor and filter drinking water.
“It’s just an historic effort to be able to drive the incidence of disease from an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 to only 14 cases today as of today," said Director of Guinea Worm Eradication Program, Ernesto Ruiz-Tiben.
If those 14 cases are the last ones on earth, Guinea Worm would join smallpox9 as only the second human disease in history to be eradicated10.
“To think that because of President Carter’s leadership and work, and the CDC and our partners around the world, 80 million people will not have to go through that torture. That is a legacy11 that is just unbelievable and inspiring," said Frieden.
For the World Health Organization to declare Guinea Worm eradicated, there must be zero cases of the disease for three calendar years.
“The pressure is on us to try to finish what remains12 to be done as soon as possible," said Ruiz-Tiben.
1 parasitic | |
adj.寄生的 | |
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2 afflicted | |
使受痛苦,折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3 ministries | |
(政府的)部( ministry的名词复数 ); 神职; 牧师职位; 神职任期 | |
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4 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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5 relatively | |
adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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6 parasite | |
n.寄生虫;寄生菌;食客 | |
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7 eradication | |
n.根除 | |
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8 indicator | |
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器 | |
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9 smallpox | |
n.天花 | |
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10 eradicated | |
画着根的 | |
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11 legacy | |
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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12 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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