VOA慢速英语:Rare Fungal Meningitis Outbreak in United States

 Health officials in the United States are attempting to contact patients who recently received steroid injections for back pain. That is because the injections may have been carrying a fungus. Thousands of patients may be at risk of developing a rare form of fungal meningitis.
美国卫生官员在努力联系最近因背痛而接受激素注射的病人，因为这些注射剂可能含有一种真菌，数千名病人可能会染上一种罕见的真菌性脑膜炎。

 Health officials reported Monday that fifteen people had died from fungal meningitis linked to steroid shots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there were more than two hundred confirmed cases of the disease in fifteen states. The majority of the cases were in three states: Tennessee, Michigan and Virginia.
周一，卫生官员报道说，已有15人死于与注射激素相关的真菌性脑膜炎。疾病控制与预防中心称，15个州已有200多个确诊病例。大多数分布在以下三个州：田纳西州、密歇根州和维吉尼亚州。

 Meningitis infects membranes that protect the brain and the spinal cord. There are five kinds of meningitis. Fungal meningitis is the rarest form of the disease. Other forms can result from bacteria, a virus or a parasite.
脑膜炎会感染保护大脑和脊髓的膜，有5种脑膜炎，真菌性脑膜炎是最罕见的一种，其他几种是由细菌、病毒或寄生虫引起的。

 Last Thursday, officials reported that tests found evidence of the suspect fungus in more than fifty vials of the steroid. They said all those vials were manufactured by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. The company has suspended operations and recalled all of its products for inspection.
上周四，官方报道，已通过测试在50多瓶激素中发现嫌疑真菌的证据。他们说这些激素都是位于马萨诸塞州的新英格兰复合中心制造的。该公司已停止生产，召回所有产品来检验。

 Compounding or specialty pharmacies often custom-mix medicines at levels, and in forms, that may not be available from other manufacturers. Under Massachusetts law, compounding pharmacies are only permitted to make small amounts of made-to-order prescription drugs.
复合或专业制药厂通常为各种情况量身定制药物，这些药物通常是其他制造商无法生产的。根据马萨诸塞州法律，复合制药厂只允许生产很少量的定制处方药。

 The patients who developed meningitis were being treated for back pain. The Centers for Disease Control says others who received the injections in their joints are not thought to be at risk.
患上脑膜炎的病人是因为背痛而接受注射的，疾病控制中心称因其他疾病而注射的人没有遇到危险。

 John Jernigan of the CDC is investigating the meningitis outbreak.
疾病控制中心的John Jernigan正在调查脑膜炎爆发一事。

 “CDC is working with state and local health departments to contact patients who may have received injections at the facilities who received the recalled lots of this medication to inform (them) that they, that they may have been exposed, to find out if they’re having symptoms, and to instruct them to seek health care should they be ill.”
“疾病控制中心正与州及地方部门设法联系那些可能在医院接受注射的人，告诉他们其可能已经感染，看他们是否有脑膜炎症状，如果已经患病，就指导他们寻求治疗。”

 Dr. Jernigan says there are many different signs of fungal meningitis.
Jernigan说真菌脑膜炎有很多病症。

 “Fever, new or worsening headache, sometimes neck stiffness. We’ve also seen in a few patients signs and symptoms of stroke, sudden onset of slurred speech, dizziness, difficulty walking, sudden weakness.”
“感冒、不断加剧的头痛、有时还会感到脖子僵硬。有的病人还有中风的症状，以及突然口齿不清、眩晕、走路困难、突然虚弱。”

 Health experts say they do not know how many people will actually become sick. They say it could take several months for a fungal infection to develop.
卫生专家说尚不清楚有多少人患病，真菌感染要几个月才能发展为疾病。