VOA慢速英语2011--Chronic Diseases an 'Impending Disaster'

Health Report - Chronic 1 Diseases an 'Impending 2 Disaster' for Some Nations

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

When we think of threats to public health, we often think of communicable diseases. But experts say non-communicable diseases -- those that do not spread from person to person -- are the leading killer 3 today. These are often the result of poor diet, environmental influences including tobacco and alcohol use, or genetics.

提起对公众健康的威胁，我们通常会想到传染性疾病。但专家表示，非传染性疾病已经成为当今头号杀手。非传染性疾病通常是由营养不良，烟酒环境影响和遗传因素造成的。

Now, the World Health Organization has released its first Global Status Report on Non-Communicable Diseases. In two thousand eight, they caused sixty-three percent of all deaths. And eighty percent of those deaths were reported in developing countries.

世卫组织目前已经发布了首份《全球非传染性疾病现状报告》。2008年，非传染性疾病造成的死亡人数占到了全部死亡人数的63%，而这其中80%发生在发展中国家。

These countries are spending billions to treat conditions like cancer, heart disease and diabetes 4. The WHO says the costs of treating non-infectious diseases are pushing millions of people into poverty. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says: "For some countries it is no exaggeration to describe the situation as an impending disaster ... a disaster for health, society and national economies."

这些国家要花费数十亿美元来治疗癌症、心脏病和糖尿病等疾病。世卫组织称，治疗非传染性疾病的花费使数百万人陷入贫困。世卫组织总干事陈冯富珍说：“对一些国家来说，这种状况可以毫不夸张地称之为一场影响健康、社会和国家经济的灾难即将来临。”

Conditions that last for years are also known as chronic diseases. Population changes are driving the increase in cases. Populations in many developing countries are growing quickly and living more in cities. Aging populations also play a part. Chronic diseases become more common as people get older.

被人熟知的持续多年的另一种疾病是慢性疾病。人口的变化推动了慢性疾病案例的增加。很多发展中国家的人口增长迅速，并大多生活在城市。人口老龄化也起到了一定作用，随着年纪变大，慢性疾病也愈发常见。

Dr. James Hospedales is a chronic disease expert at the WHO. He says chronic diseases are a major problem in big countries like the United States, India and China and across Latin America and the Mediterranean 5. And they are expected to become the leading cause of death in many African nations by twenty-twenty.

James Hospedales医生是世卫组织的慢性病专家。他说，慢性病是美国、印度和中国等大国以及整个拉丁美洲和地中海地区的一大难题。同时他们预计到2020年，慢性病也将成为许多非洲国家人口死亡的主要原因。

JAMES HOSPEDALES: "We cannot wait until we have dealt with HIV, dealt with malaria 6. No, it's upon us. As a matter of fact, one of the major contributors to tuberculosis 7 going up in several countries is because diabetes is going up -- and obesity 8. So there is a link between diabetes and TB."

JAMES HOSPEDALES：“我们不能等到处理好艾滋病毒、痢疾后再来处理慢性病。这取决于我们。实际上，有几个国家结核病的一大诱因持续上升是因为糖尿病和肥胖症持续上升。因此慢性病和糖尿病存在某种联系。

Dr. Hospedales says some middle- and low-income countries are beginning to recognize that their health policies must deal more with prevention.

Hospedales医生称，一些中低收入国家都开始意识到卫生政策必须更加注重预防。

JAMES HOSPEDALES: "We estimate in WHO that over thirty million lives can be saved in the next ten years by simple measures -- reducing the level of salt by fifteen to twenty percent, reducing the amount of tobacco, and increasing the number of people who are at risk of a heart attack and stroke to be on simple preventive treatment."

JAMES HOSPEDALES：“我们预计，在未来十年里可以通过一些简单措施挽救三千万人的生命。这些简单措施包括减少15%~20%的食盐含量，减少烟草数量，提高心脏病和中风潜在患者的预防治疗。”

The WHO is the United Nations' health agency. The General Assembly plans to hold its first high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. The meeting will take place in New York this September.

世卫组织是联合国卫生机构。联合国大会计划举行首次高级别非传染性疾病防治会议。这次会议将于今年9月在纽约举行。