【慢速英语】New Concerns About The H1N1 Virus

 
 

New Concerns About The H1N1 Virus

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VOICE ONE:

Governments around the world have been taking steps to guard against the H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known as swine flu. Health officials say the virus is especially risky for pregnant women. If they become infected, especially after the first three months of pregnancy, they can get very sick or even die.

Pregnant women face an increased risk even during outbreaks, or periods, of seasonal influenza. But the H1N1 flu has been affecting a younger age group than seasonal flu epidemics.

A pregnant woman receiving a seasonal flu shot in Dallas, Texas


VOICE TWO:

The World Health Organization says pregnant women should take the antiviral drug Tamiflu as soon as possible after they show signs of being sick. The drug is also called oseltamivir.

The W.H.O. says treatment should begin immediately and not wait for the results of laboratory tests. The effects are greatest when given within forty-eight hours. But experts say the medicine could still do some good even if there is a delay.

VOICE ONE:

Since April, more than one thousand deaths have been reported from the H1N1 virus. But the virus has yet to show itself to be more severe than seasonal flu.

The World Health Organization has predicted that the virus will infect at least two billion people in the next two years. The WHO's Director-General, Margaret Chan, has expressed concern there is not a good process in place to produce enough vaccine against the virus.

VOICE TWO:

In the United States, there are now policies for the use of H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. An advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are five groups that should be vaccinated first.

These include pregnant women and people who live with or care for children younger than six months. They also include workers in health care and emergency services, and people between six months and twenty-four years of age.

The fifth group on the list is people twenty-five to sixty-four with chronic, or long-lasting, health problems.

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