肝炎治疗取得重大进展 多数患者患病而不自知

    From VOA Learning English this is the Health & Lifestyle Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语健康和生活方式报道。

    The first-ever World Hepatitis Summit was held in September of this year in Glasgow, Scotland. Health experts estimate that about 400 million people are infected with the viral disease.
    今年九月在苏格兰格拉斯哥市举行了全球首次肝炎峰会。卫生专家们估计大约有4亿人感染了这种病毒性疾病。

    Viral hepatitis infections kill nearly 1 million people a year. The majority of cases are in Asia and in African countries south of the Sahara.
    病毒性肝炎感染每年造成近1百万人死亡。其中大多数病例发生在亚洲和撒哈拉以南非洲地区。

    A vaccine and treatment for some forms of hepatitis are now available. But whether patients have enough money to pay for treatments is a different story.
    目前一些类型的肝炎有了疫苗和治疗办法。但是患者是否拥有足够治疗费用是另一回事。

    The World Health Organization says high cost of drugs is one big problem in fighting hepatitis. Another problem is the fact that most people living with hepatitis do not know they are infected.
    世界卫生组织表示,药品价格高是抗击肝炎中的一个大问题。另一个问题是患有肝炎的大多数人不知道自己已经被感染。

    Hepatitis explained
    肝炎介绍

    There are five different hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D and E. All five cause inflammation of the liver. The organ can become enlarged and painful.
    病毒性肝炎分为甲、乙、丙、丁、戊这5种不同的类型。这五种类型都会导致肝脏炎症,从而使该器官胀大和疼痛。

    Hepatitis A, E and D
    甲型、戊型和丁型肝炎

    Hepatitis A and E are spread through infectious waste in food or water. These forms of the disease cause acute infection. However, most people recover. The best way to prevent Hepatitis A is by getting a vaccination. But the U.S. Federal Drug Agency has yet to approve a vaccine for Hepatitis E.
    甲型和丁型肝炎通过食物或水中的传染性废弃物传播。这些类型的疾病会引发急性感染。然而多数人会康复。防治甲型肝炎的最好办法是接种疫苗。但是美国联邦药监部门尚未批准戊型肝炎疫苗。

    Hepatitis E is usually found in countries with polluted water supplies and poor waste treatment systems. Hepatitis D only infects people already infected with the B virus.
    戊型肝炎通常发生在水源污染和废弃物处理系统差劲的国家。丁型肝炎只会感染已经感染乙型病毒的患者。

    Hepatitis B and C can be the most serious. Those two types are responsible for 80 percent of all liver cancer deaths.
    乙型和丙型肝炎最为严重。这两种类型占到了所有肝癌死亡数的80%。

    Dr. Stefan Wiktor is the Team Lead of the World Health Organization's Global Hepatitis Program. He says hepatitis B and C are also different from the other types in how they are spread.
    斯特凡·维克托(Stefan Wiktor)博士是世界卫生组织全球肝炎项目的负责人。他说,乙型和丙型肝炎在传播方式上也和其它类型肝炎有所不同。

    "Hepatitis B and C are transmitted by blood. So that means from a mother to a child; through blood transfusions or through injections. Hepatitis B can also be transmitted by sex. So, there are different routes of transmission."
    “乙型和丙型肝炎通过血液传播,这指的是通过母婴、输血或注射传播。乙型肝炎还能通过性传播。它存在着多种传播途径。”

    You can get hepatitis B from sexual contact or by sharing drug-injection equipment. The best way to prevent Hepatitis B is by getting vaccinated. Hepatitis B is common worldwide, especially in many parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands.
    你可能会通过性接触或共用毒品注射器感染乙肝。预防乙肝的最好办法是接种疫苗。乙肝在全球都很普遍,特别是在亚洲和太平洋岛屿的很多地区。

    With hepatitis C, most people become infected by sharing instruments like needles. The majority of infected persons with hepatitis C might not know they are infected because they do not feel sick. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease.
    大多数人感染丙型肝炎是通过共用针头等器械。大部分丙肝感染者可能不知道自己被感染,因为他们不觉得不舒服。目前尚没有针对丙型肝炎的疫苗。防止丙肝的最好办法是避免发生可以传播该疾病的行为。

    Available treatments
    现有治疗手段

    Dr. Wiktor says there are ways to prevent all types of hepatitis.
    维克托博士表示,所有类型的肝炎都有预防办法。

    "Luckily, we have ways to prevent all of them. There's a great vaccine for Hepatitis B that is effective for life. And there are treatments for both B and C. So, there are now in hand means of preventing and treating both infections. So, really, this is a time to act and that's really the point of this summit."
    他说,“幸运的是,我们有办法预防所有肝炎。乙肝有着有效疫苗。而且乙肝和丙肝都有治疗手段。所以这两种肝炎都有现有的预防和治疗手段。所以是时候采取行动了,这也是这次峰会的意义所在。”

    Not so long ago, treating Hepatitis C was difficult with a very low recovery rate. Now, people are able to be cured completely of the virus. Dr. Wiktor considers this a major development.
    不久前,治疗丙肝因为康复率很低而非常艰难。现在人们可以完全治愈这种病毒。维克托博士认为这是一项重大发展。

    "One of the most remarkable advances in the development of medicines is the development of treatments for hepatitis C. Until recently, it was very difficult to cure. It required weekly injections and only half the people who started the medicines were cured. Now, the medicines are about 12 weeks of treatment. One pill a day and almost everyone is cured. And cured means the virus is gone from their body."
    “医学发展的一项重要进步就是丙肝治疗手段的发展。直到最近它还非常难以治愈。它需要每周进行注射,而只有一半用药的患者被治愈。现在只需要进行12周的药物治疗。每天服用一片药丸,几乎所有人都被治愈了。治愈意味着病毒完全离开他们的身体。”

    Although a vaccine and treatments are available, says Dr. Wiktor, not everyone in need can get them. He says this is a big problem. The Global Hepatitis Program says that about 240 million people are infected with chronic hepatitis B. And anywhere between 130 and 150 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C.
    维克托博士说,虽然有了疫苗和治疗手段,但不是每个需要的人都能得到它们。他说这是一个大问题。全球肝炎项目表示,大约有2.4亿人感染了慢性乙型肝炎。全球还有1.3亿到1.5亿人感染了丙型肝炎。

    "The problem has been that these medicines are very expensive. In the U.S., for example, they cost more than $100,000 to treat one person just for the medicines. Luckily, the lower income countries have been able to get these same medicines at (a) much lower price. But a lot more has to happen to make these drugs affordable."
    他说,“问题是这些药物非常昂贵。以美国为例,治疗一个人的药品费用就超过10万美元。幸运的是,收入较低的国家一直能够以低得多的价格获得同等药品。但是想让人们负担得起这些药品,还需要做很多事情。”

    One of the goals of the recent summit was to urge countries to develop national hepatitis treatment and prevention programs.
    最近这次峰会的目标之一是督促各国制定国家性肝炎治疗和预防方案。

    The WHO says people need to be aware how the disease spreads and how to treat it. If left untreated, hepatitis kills slowly. It can take 10 or more years for the virus to destroy the liver.
    世界卫生组织表示,人们对这种疾病如何传播和治疗要做到心中有数。如果不及时治疗,肝炎会缓慢导致死亡。病毒会用10年甚至更长时间破坏肝脏。

    I'm Anna Matteo.
    我是安娜·马特奥(Anna Matteo)。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)