VOA慢速英语:Tanzanian Rats Help in Identifying Tuberculosis(翻译)

It killed about 2,000,000 people last year.
去年有200万人死于肺结核。

TB is an infectious bacterial disease that usually attacks the lungs.If the number of deaths from TB is to be reduced, doctors must be able to accurately diagnose and quickly treat patients.
肺结核是一种感染性细菌性疾病，通常会影响肺部。如果要减少肺结核的死亡人数，医生必须要准确诊断并快速治疗病人。

That can be difficult in developing countries, but a health center in Tanzania is now using trained animals to find the bacterium in people.
在发展中国家，这一点很难做到，但坦桑尼亚的一个医疗中心在训练小动物，以发现人体内的细菌。

Giant Pouched Rats are able to smell tuberculosis germs in human saliva.When they do, they stop moving.They wait for food from their trainer.
非洲巨鼠可以闻出人体唾液中的肺结核病菌。当它们发现这种病菌时，就会停住不动。它们等待训练员给它们食物。

Fidelis John is one of the rat trainers.He works for a group called APOPO.He says the rats have a stronger sense of smell than other animals and can easily recognize tuberculosis.
菲德里斯·约翰是一名驯鼠师。他所效力的组织叫做APOPO。他说老鼠比其他动物的嗅觉灵敏，能够轻易发现肺结核。

Health workers now use a 100-year-old method to diagnose TB.It is not as effective as the rats.Often, health care workers have trouble identifying the disease in patients. This can cause TB to spread.
医务人员如今还用一百年前的方法去诊断肺结核。效率不如这些老鼠快。通常医务人员诊断不出病人的疾病。这造成了肺结核的传播。

Dr. Richard Banda works in Tanzania.He is the acting country representative for the World Health Organization.
理查德·班达医生在坦桑尼亚工作。他是世界卫生组织的代理国代表。

Dr. Banda says the WHO estimates that only one third of people with TB are diagnosed as being infected.Thirty thousand people die from the disease every year in Tanzania. That is about 82 people a day.
班达说世卫组织预计，只有三分之一的人患肺结核后能被诊断出来。在坦桑尼亚每年有三万人死于肺结核。每天大约有82人因此死亡。

APOPO believes their rats -- which are native to Tanzania -- are an effective way to help solve the problem of TB misdiagnosis.
APOPO认为他们做训练的老鼠，坦桑尼亚本土的老鼠，可以有效解决肺结核误诊问题。

Trainer John agrees.
训练员约翰同意这种观点。

“Rat(s) can use the time in between 10 and 20 minutes to finish evaluating 100 samples --a task that would have taken a lab technician a time of 4 to 5 days to finish that job.”
“老鼠可以在10到20分钟内完成100个样品的检测，而完成这项工作需要花费一名实验室技术员4到5天的时间。”

After the rats complete their investigation, laboratory workers test samples.Lab results are returned to hospitals within 24 hours, so those found to be infected can quickly begin medical treatment.
老鼠结束检测后，实验室人员会检测样本。实验结果在24小时内回复医院，这样感染的病人就能快速得到治疗。

APOPO says since the rats have been used, they have identified thousands of infections that were missed with traditional tests.
APOPO说自从应用老鼠进行检测后，他们发现了上万个之前用传统方法未曾诊断出的病例。

The group is planning to use the rats in other countries, and train them to find other diseases.
该组织计划在其他国家应用这些老鼠，并训练他们检测其他疾病。

I’m Caty Weaver.
卡迪·韦弗为您报道。