VOA双语新闻：11、埃博拉影响西非经济

埃博拉影响西非经济

The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is likely to hurt economic growth and government finances in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and perhaps Nigeria, according to a key analyst 1. Prevention efforts are crimping commerce, sports, travel and trade.

据重要分析师称，最近在西非爆发的埃博拉疫情很有可能损害几内亚、利比里亚和塞拉利昂或许还有尼日利亚的经济增长和财政状况。一系列病毒预防措施正在抑制商业、运动、旅游和贸易的发展。

Ebola sparks fear, and protests demanding stronger and smarter government actions.

埃博拉引发巨大恐慌。当地抗议活动要求政府采取更加有力而有效的措施。

It's spread by contact with blood or other body fluids of infected people, which is why it has killed scores of medical workers and forced some hospitals to close.

埃博拉病毒通过接触感染者血液或其他体液进行传播，已经导致几十名医务人员死亡，一些医院被迫关闭。

Moody’s credit rating service says the costs of fighting Ebola will strain national budgets, while the slowdown in commerce will cut tax revenues and could make measurable cuts in each country's annual GDP growth. Experts say this outbreak is hurting the economy more than previous ones in Africa because it is in a more populated area.

穆迪信用评级服务公司说，抗击埃博拉的费用将增加国家预算压力，商业滞缓将削减税收并导致各国经济增长速度放缓。专家称埃博拉疫情对一些国家经济的损害超过以往，因为疫情都爆发在人口密集区域。

Nigerian-born economics professor Benjamin Akande is worried. He is the dean of Webster University’s business school in the United States, and he spoke 2 to VOA via Skype.

尼日利亚籍经济学教授本杰明·阿坎德对此感到担忧。

"The economic implications of this Ebola virus are staggering and it’s staggering because it’s on the edge of possibly shutting down the economic lifeline for the affected 3 countries,” said Akande.

阿坎德说：“埃博拉病毒对经济的影响令人震惊，因为这些受影响的国家处在可能关闭经济命脉的边缘。

Numerous disruptions

Moody’s reports Ebola is likely to disrupt air travel and other critical commercial and transport activities for at least a month.

穆迪公司称埃博拉可能会影响航空以及其他重要商业和交通活动至少一个月。

Some airlines are demanding hand washing and temperature checks for passengers, while others have canceled flights.

一些航空公司要求乘客登机前洗手并进行体温检测，而其他航空公司已取消相关航班。

Officials have also closed some borders, banned some public gatherings 4 and sports events and told some workers to stay home.

政府官员也关闭了某些边境、禁止公共聚会和体育活动，并让一些工人呆在家里。

A shopkeeper said the situation is hurting commerce. “Since then the customers are low, you understand?”

一位店主说这样的情况影响了商业活动。他说：“自从埃博拉爆发后，顾客越来越少。”

A Wesleyan University disease expert said Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people and is likely to kill more. But the human and economic toll 5 from other diseases -- like malaria 6 -- is higher, according to William Johnston, speaking via Skype.

卫斯理大学疾病专家称埃博拉已致1000多人死亡，这个数字可能会继续上升。

"Approximately 207 million cases with 627,000 deaths from malaria itself in 2012, tuberculosis 7, they counted 8.6 million new cases," said Johnston.

Prevention efforts

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said competing priorities are one reason there is no effective vaccine 8 or treatment is widely available yet.

匹兹堡大学医学中心感染科专家阿密·阿达贾说，目前没有有效疫苗和广泛治疗的原因是，各机构没有就采取什么紧急措施达成统一意见。

“Ebola affects a very small proportion of the population. These outbreaks are sporadic 9, explosive, and then disappear," said Adalja. "They are controlled using very low-tech measures that are low cost, and each outbreak has been stopped using these low-tech measures up until this one.”

阿达贾博士说：“埃博拉影响到的人口比例非常小。这次疫情是分散的，极具爆发性，随后快速消失。通常可用低成本的技术含量并不高的措施得到有效控制，但是这一次埃博拉疫情却除外。”

Those low-tech measures include telling potential victims how to avoid infection, providing more protective suits and gloves for health workers, and a dose of soap, water and bleach 10.

这些措施包括告诉潜在受感染者如何避免感染，向卫生工作者提供更多防护服和手套，肥皂，水和漂白剂。

So far, though, officials have not convinced enough people to use those measures, and the disease is not contained.

但是，目前官员还没有说服足够多的人使用上述措施。