This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
The World Health Organization has called a meeting to discuss if there is truly a link between hormonal birth control and the spread of HIV.
世卫组织呼吁召开一次会议讨论激素避孕与艾滋病传播之间是否真的存在某种联系。
A new study in Africa looked mainly at the use of injectable hormones. It found that women who used them had double the risk of getting infected by a male partner with HIV. It also found that men were twice as likely to get HIV from infected women who used hormonal contraception than from those who did not. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
在非洲进行的一项新的研究主要着眼于注射型避孕激素的使用。研究发现使用避孕激素的女性被携带艾滋病毒的男性伴侣感染的风险翻了一倍。研究还发现，男性被使用避孕激素的女性艾滋病携带者感染的风险是被未使用激素避孕的女性艾滋病携带者感染风险的2倍。（可简单翻译为：使用激素避孕的女性，感染艾滋病毒或将病毒传染给性伴侣的风险，是未使用激素女性的2倍。）艾滋病毒是导致艾滋病的病毒。
Renee Heffron and other researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle led the study. She advises couples to use condoms in addition to other forms of birth control to prevent HIV and unwanted pregnancy. She spoke on Skype from Kenya.
芮妮·赫夫隆（Renee Heffron）和其他来自西雅图华盛顿大学的研究人员领导了这项研究。她通过Skype从肯尼亚发言，建议夫妻除了其它形式的避孕措施，还要使用避孕套来预防艾滋病毒和意外怀孕。
RENEE HEFFRON: "It's really important that women continue to use hormonal contraceptives, but also that they really understand the importance of using condoms when they are using hormonal contraceptives, and that hormonal contraceptives don't protect them against HIV, and in fact, may increase their risk."
赫夫隆：“女性继续使用激素避孕药非常重要，但让她们真正懂得在使用激素避孕药的同时使用避孕套的重要性也很重要。激素避孕药无法保护他们免受艾滋病毒感染，事实上还会增加他们感染的风险。”
The WHO has called a meeting of experts in January.
世卫组织呼吁明年一月召开一次专家会议。
Health groups have been promoting the use of injectable contraceptives as an easy and cost-effective form of birth control. The women can inject themselves, and each shot is effective for three months.
卫生组织已经将使用避孕针剂作为一种简单、低成本的避孕措施加以推广。女性可以自行注射，每次注射的有效期为三个月。
This method is far more popular among African women than birth control pills. HIV risk also appeared to increase in women who took contraceptives in pill form. But the researchers did not study enough of them to say for sure.
在非洲女性中，这种避孕方式比口服避孕药更为普遍。在口服避孕药的女性中，艾滋病毒感染风险也有所提升。但由于研究对象不够多，研究人员尚无法确认这点。
The study involved close to four thousand heterosexual couples in Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Either the man or the woman already had HIV when the study began. The researchers tested the partners over a two-year period.
这项研究涉及了近4000对居住在博茨瓦纳、肯尼亚、卢旺达、南非、坦桑尼亚、乌干达和赞比亚的异性配偶。其中没有任何人在研究开始时携带艾滋病毒。研究人员对这些配偶进行了为期两年的检测。
The study appeared last week in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
该研究上周发表在《柳叶刀传染病》杂志上。
Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV. South of the Sahara, the virus has spread mainly through sex between men and women.
非洲拥有最大数量的艾滋病毒感染者。在撒哈拉以南，艾滋病毒主要通过异性之间的性行为传播。
Experts point out that even if the popular contraceptives increase the risk of HIV, there are also risks to increased pregnancies. Sub-Saharan Africa has high rates of pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths in women and health problems in babies.
专家指出，即使普通避孕药会增加艾滋病毒感染风险，（但如果不使用避孕药）也还存在增加怀孕的风险。撒哈拉以南非洲地区女性怀孕和分娩有关的死亡，以及婴儿健康问题的比例都很高。
The global development organization FHI 360 notes that earlier studies of this issue produced mixed results. It says a higher quality study is urgently needed to compare users of injectable hormones and other contraception methods. Such a study, it says, would take at least four to five years to produce results.
全球发展组织FHI 360（即家庭健康国际组织）指出，关于这一问题的早期研究产生了不同的结论。该组织称，迫切需要有一项更高质量的研究对注射型激素和其他避孕方式进行比较。这样一项研究将至少需要四到五年才能出成果。
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