VOA慢速英语2013 研究发现孕妇未进行疟疾预防

Study: Pregnant Women Not Gaining Access to Malaria 1 Prevention  研究发现孕妇未进行疟疾预防

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

Malaria kills about 200,000 newborn babies and 10,000 new mothers every year. Most of these death are in Africa. Malaria can also cause mothers to lose their babies before they are born, or cause a baby to be born early. These are low cost ways to prevent malaria infection. But a new study find that many pregnant women do not receive this intervention 2. 

疟疾每年造成20万名新生儿和1万名新妈妈死亡，其中大部分死亡案例在非洲。疟疾还会导致胎儿死亡或者早产。现在有低费用的办法可以防止疟疾感染。但一项新的研究发现，许多孕妇未接受到这些干预措施。

For example, for the past 20 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised pregnant women in areas with high rates of malaria to sleep on the bed nets treated with insecticide.

例如，在过去20年，世界卫生组织建议疟疾高发区域的孕妇睡觉时使用经过杀虫剂处理的蚊帐。

The WHO also advised them to get what is known as intermittent 3 preventive treatment, or IPT. This treatment involves take in a low cost anti-malaria drug at certain times in the pregnancy 4 in an effort to prevent the disease. The WHO recommends that pregnant women receive the medicine usually around 4 times during visits to a clinic. 

世界卫生组织还建议他们接受所谓的间歇性预防治疗。这种治疗包括在特定时间服用低费用的抗疟疾药物，以防止疟疾感染。世界卫生组织建议孕妇一般每去一次诊所服用4次药物。

Many pregnant women and new mothers go to medical clinics in sub-saharan Africa. Yet researchers say only about 21 percent receive intermittent preventive treatment during their pregnancy, and less than 40 percent are given protective bed nets.

撒哈拉以南非洲的许多孕妇和新妈妈都去医疗诊所。然而研究人员表示，只有21%的人在怀孕期间接受了间歇性预防治疗，低于40%的人得到防护蚊帐。

Jenny Hill from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is program manager for a research partnership 5 called the Malaria and Pregnancy Consortium.  

来自利物浦热带医学院的珍妮·希尔（Jenny Hill）是疟疾和妊娠联盟的项目经理。

Miss Hill says a review of 98 studies found a number of barriers to malaria prevention, these included unclear policy and guidance from government ministers and health care officials. Other problems include drug shortages, a lack of clean water, and confusion about how to administer IPT.

希尔女士表示，对98项研究审核后发现了疟疾预防的一些障碍，其中包括来自政府部长和卫生保健官员们的政策和指导不清晰。其它问题还包括药物短缺、缺乏清洁水以及如何进行间歇性预防治疗方面的混乱。

"They were unclear on when to give it whether it could be given to women on an empty stomach, whether it should be given under observation in clinics, and so on and so forth 6."

她说，“何时服用，是否可以让女性空腹服用，服用时是否应该在诊所进行观察等都未明确。”

Miss Hill says free intermittent preventive treatment is the policy in 37 countries across the region. But the researchers found that antenatal clinic or ANCs may charge fees, that can keep some preganat women from returning.

希尔女士表示，该地区37个国家都有免费的间歇性预防治疗。但研究人员发现，胎前检查所可能会收取费用，这使得一些孕妇不会再来。

Miss Hill says countries can reduce the number of deaths and early births due to malaria by following the WHO policy on intermittent preventive treatment. She says governments should also provide more money in their budgets for anti-malaria drug, so there are no shortages. Also they should publicize the importance of malaria prevention among women at highest risk for the disease.

希尔女士表示，各国可以通过遵循世界卫生组织在间歇性预防治疗方面的政策，降低疟疾导致的死亡和早产人数。她表示，各国政府还应该在抗疟疾药物上提供更多财政预算这样药物就不会短缺。他们还应该在疟疾高风险妇女当中宣传疟疾预防的重要性。

The journal PLoS Medicine published the analysis of maternal 7 and infant malaria prevention measures.

美国科学公共图书馆(PLoS)期刊发表了母婴疟疾预防措施的分析结果。