VOA常速英语:欧洲麻疹爆发 致35名儿童死亡

A vaccine ended small pox, another vaccine is close to ending polio.Besides polio, vaccines prevent the flu, hepatitis, liver cancer, cervical, oral and penile cancers and a dozen or so other diseases.They have saved countless lives and prevented enormous suffering.Scientists are now working on vaccines for AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
疫苗曾终结了天花，也即将了断脊髓灰质炎。除此之外，疫苗还可以预防流感、肝炎、肝癌、子宫颈癌、口腔癌和阴茎癌等十几种其他疾病。疫苗拯救了无数的生命，帮助人们预防巨大痛苦。科学家们如今正在致力于艾滋、疟疾和结核病等疫苗的开发。

Immunization and vaccines are the most powerful public health tools that we have.
“免疫和疫苗是我们手里最强大的公共卫生武器。”

One of the most effective vaccines available, to prevent measles, mumps and rubella,is meeting resistance from many parents because of a debunked study that linked the vaccine to autism.Yet some parents oppose all vaccines.
我们已经研制出预防麻疹、腮腺炎和风疹（MMR）的最有效疫苗，但如今该疫苗却遭受了来自许多家长的阻力，因为有人做过一项研究，直指自闭症与MMR疫苗难脱干系。但还有些家长，他们反对所有疫苗。

“We don’t want anybody to force anything on our children, as parents, it’s our decision whether or not we want to vaccinate."“We the parents have the rights…”
“我们不想让任何人去强迫孩子做任何事。作为父母，我们有权决定是否要接种疫苗。”“我们家长有权利……”

In the U.S., it’s become a parents’ rights issue.“We now in the state of Texas have 50,000 kids whose parents are opting them out of getting vaccinated.”
在美国，疫苗问题已经演变成为了家长的权利问题。“德克萨斯州现在有五万名孩子的家长决定不让他们接种疫苗。”

Doctors feel strongly about the benefits of vaccines.Dr. Hope Scott lost a daughter to pneumococcal meningitis five years before a vaccine became available.
而医生们对疫苗的益处却都持明确态度。就在五年前，因为没有找到治疗肺炎球菌性脑膜炎的可用疫苗，霍普·斯科特无奈痛失爱女。

“Has she been born five years later, or has that vaccine been five years earlier, I would have three children, not two.And, it is hard for me to have conversations with people who choose not to vaccinate.Because, you know, I would give anything to be able to trade places with them.You know, I’d give a million dollars and my right arm to have the opportunity to vaccinate my child and save her life. ...And I didn’t have that opportunity.”
“要是她能够晚生五年，又或者如果五年前我们就已经研制出了这种疫苗，我现在就应该有三个孩子，而不是只有两个了。对我来说，要跟不让孩子接种疫苗的人谈话是一件很难的事。因为如果可以的话，我愿意用一切来换取跟他们一样的处境。我愿意用一百万美元，用我的右手来交换，只要能给我的孩子一个接种疫苗的机会，重新回到我的身边……可我再也没有机会了。”

Doctors and other health professionals wonder how to convince parents that vaccines will keep their children healthy.
医生和其他医疗健康专家一直在考虑如何才能说服父母，让他们相信接种疫苗会保持孩子身体健康。

I think the approach toward people who are anti-vaccinating is to respect their opinion and don’t denigrate them and don’t criticize them,but try to explain to them on the basis of solid evidence why the risk benefit of vaccines clearly, clearly favors —very, very heavily — toward vaccinating your children."
“我觉得对于那些反接种人士，我们能做的就是尊重他们的意见，不诋毁，不批评，同时用有力的证据向他们解释为什么综合利弊之后，得到的结果非常非常倾向于给孩子接种疫苗。”

In a column written for The Seattle Times newspaper, autism expert Annette Este said health professionals need to “urgently find a way out of our impasse and rediscover the connections between“ those who oppose immunizations and the medical community.
在《西雅图时报》的专栏中，自闭症专家埃内斯特曾表示，医疗健康专家们需要“赶快想办法打破目前的僵局，并重新发现”反对疫苗接种人群和医疗界之间的联系。

The American Medical Association has plans to continue to promote public understanding and confidence in the safety of vaccines.Some European countries now make vaccines against measles and other diseases mandatory.
美国医学协会计划继续提高公众对疫苗安全性的了解与信心。而一些欧洲国家如今也开始强制儿童接种麻疹和其它疾病的疫苗。

Carol Pearson, VOA news, Washington.
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