VOA慢速英语:Progress in Fighting Snakebite Deaths

Researchers are finding new ways to save snakebite victims. Experts discussed the latest findings during a recent meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
研究人员正在寻找新的方法来拯救毒蛇咬到的伤者。最近，在美国热带医学和卫生学会一次会议中，专家们讨论了最新的研究成果。

Scientists in Australia have shown that a chemical called nitric oxide could increase the chances of surviving a poisonous snakebite. The scientists injected rats with deadly amounts of snake venom. Then they rubbed an ointment containing nitric oxide on the skin around the injection site.
澳大利亚科学家发现，一种被称为一氧化氮的化学物质可能会增加被毒蛇咬伤后的幸存机会。科学家给老鼠注射了致命剂量的蛇毒，然后在注射部位周围皮肤上涂抹了一种含有一氧化氮的药膏。

The study found that the rats lived about one-third longer than if the ointment had not been used. But the treatment had to be started very quickly.
该研究发现，这些老鼠生存的时间比未使用药膏的老鼠延长了1/3，但必须非常迅速开始这种治疗。

Dirk van Helden led the research at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales. He says the nitric oxide ointment also showed promise in humans. Volunteers were injected with a harmless liquid that contained molecules about the same size as snake venom molecules.
新南威尔士州纽卡斯尔大学的Dirk van Helden负责了这项研究。他说，这种一氧化氮药膏对人类也有效。志愿者被注射了一种与蛇毒分子大小相同的无害液体。

Many snake venoms contain large molecules that can only enter the bloodstream through the body's lymphatic system. The nitric oxide slows the pumping action of the lymphatic system, and that slows the flow of venom into the blood.
许多蛇毒中包含只能通过人体淋巴系统进入血液的大分子。一氧化氮可以减慢淋巴系统的抽吸动作，从而减缓毒液流入血液。

The study appeared earlier this year in the journal Nature Medicine. Scientists say the findings could help save many lives. A study from two thousand eight found that poisonous snakes cause as many as ninety-four thousand deaths worldwide each year. But Ulrich Kuch of the Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Frankfurt, Germany, says that estimate appears to be low.
这项研今年早些时候究发表在《自然医学》杂志上。科学家们说，这些发现可以帮助挽救许多生命。从2008年开始的一项研究发现，毒蛇导致全世界每年有多达9.4万人死亡。但德国法兰克福生物多样性和气候研究中心的Ulrich Kuch表示，该估计似乎比较低。
 
ULRICH KUCH: "New numbers from very rigorously designed and well-conducted studies in India and Bangladesh have come up with numbers that suggest that the real death toll of snakebites at the global level is much higher."
ULRICH KUCH：“来自印度和孟加拉国严格设计和有效开展研究的新数字表明，全球被毒蛇咬伤的实际死亡人数要高得多。”

Mr. Kuch says many deaths could be prevented, but snakebite victims often go to traditional healers or do not seek any help at all.
Kuch先生说，许多人的死亡是可以避免的，但毒蛇咬伤受害者经常寻求传统疗法，或根本不寻求任何帮助。

ULRICH KUCH: "Either because there is no treatment available -- no antivenom, which is the specific drug to treat snakebites -- or because health care staff do not know how to treat snakebites, or because transportation to get to a health facility is not available or too expensive."
ULRICH KUCH：“也许因为没有治疗条件--没有抗蛇毒血清，这是治疗被蛇咬伤的特效药；也许是医护人员不知道如何处理蛇伤；也许是因为去往医疗机构的交通不便或过于昂贵。”

There is no single antivenom that can be used to treat all snakebites. The antivenom must be specific to the kind of snake that bit the person. In some countries the treatment is costly, while in others there are problems with availability.
目前没有任何单一的抗蛇毒血清，可用于治疗所有蛇伤。抗蛇毒血清必须针对咬人的蛇的种类。在一些国家，治疗是非常昂贵的。而在其他国家，获得抗蛇毒血清又存在问题。

ULRICH KUCH: "For example, antivenoms in India, they are really not expensive. But you do have an issue of distribution and of training people in treating snakebites. In other countries, such as Laos, for example, and many other Asian and African countries, there's no antivenom at all."
ULRICH KUCH：“例如，印度的抗蛇毒血清真的不贵。但在分配和训练人们治疗蛇伤上存在问题。在其他国家，例如老挝和许多其他亚非国家，那里根本就没有抗蛇毒血清。”

Using the correct antivenom is very important. New tests are being developed to help rural health workers know the right one to give.
使用正确的抗蛇毒血清是非常重要的。目前正在研究的新检测方法将帮助农村卫生工作者知道使用正确血清。