19 November, 2013

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says cervical cancer kills 250,000 women worldwide each year. WHO officials say four out of five of those women live in poor countries, like in the west African nation of Burkina Faso.

Doctors there are using a simple low-cost method to test for cervical cancer. They say the test can save thousands of lives every year.

Yacouba Ouedraogo directs the cervical cancer prevention program at a health clinic in the capital, Ouagadougou.

He says cervical cancer has become the most common cancer among women in Burkina Faso, but he says finding and treating the cancer in its early stages has recently become much easier.

Doctors there are using a small piece of cotton covered with distilled white vinegar - the vinegar can be bought at almost any market in Africa. The doctors rub the cotton swab on the opening of a woman's uterus. Once the liquid touches the organ, any pre-cancerous or cancerous cells will turn white.

Dr. Stanislas Paul Nebie has been using the vinegar test on his patients since 2010.

He says it is very simple, and unlike other tests, which can be costly, and require sending cell samples to a laboratory. With the vinegar test, he says, any problems can be seen immediately and treated during the same visit.

At a medical center in Ouagadougou, women pay $4 for the test and treatment for any cells that show signs of cancer.

Dr. Nebie says this is a good deal, considering the high cost of radiology or surgical treatments if the cancer is not caught early. He said medical centers, even in rural villages, can and are performing the vinegar test and suggesting patients for treatment.

Burkina Faso does not yet have numbers for how many lives the vinegar test has saved. But doctors in India announced earlier this year that the test had cut cervical cancer deaths by 31 percent in a study there. They said the study involved 150,000 women.

Most cervical cancer comes as a result of the human papillomavirus, which is passed through sexual contact. The disease often has few signs until it reaches advanced stage and becomes more difficult to treat. Women simply do not know they have it, sometimes until it is too late.

And that is the Health Report from VOA Learning English. You can read, listen and learn American English with health news on our website chinavoa.com. You can also watch captioned videos at the VOA Learning English channel on YouTube. I'm Christopher Cruise.

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

The World Health Organization (WHO) says cervical cancer kills 250,000 women worldwide each year. WHO officials say four out of five of those women live in poor countries, like in the west African nation of Burkina Faso.

世界卫生组织表示，全球每年有25万名妇女死于宫颈癌。世卫组织官员表示，这其中又有4/5生活在贫穷国家，像西非的布基纳法索。

Doctors there are using a simple low-cost method to test for cervical cancer. They say the test can save thousands of lives every year.

这里的医生正在使用一种简单、低成本的办法来检测宫颈癌。他们表示，这种检测方法每年能挽救数万生命。

Yacouba Ouedraogo directs the cervical cancer prevention program at a health clinic in the capital, Ouagadougou. He says cervical cancer has become the most common cancer among women in Burkina Faso, but he says finding and treating the cancer in its early stages has recently become much easier.

雅各巴·韦德拉奥果(Yacouba Ouedraogo)负责首都瓦加杜古一家诊所的宫颈癌预防项目。他说宫颈癌已经成为布基纳法索妇女之中一种最常见的癌症。但他表示，在其早期阶段发现和治疗这种癌症近期已经变得更加容易。

Doctors there are using a small piece of cotton covered with distilled white vinegar - the vinegar can be bought at almost any market in Africa - the doctors rub the cotton swab on the opening of a woman's uterus. Once the liquid touches the organ, any pre-cancerous or cancerous cells will turn white.

这里的医生开始使用蘸有蒸馏白醋的棉签在女性子宫颈擦拭，而这种醋几乎能在非洲任何市场买到。一旦这种蒸馏白醋接触到子宫，任何癌前病变或已经癌变的细胞都会变成白色。

Dr. Stanislas Paul Nebie has been using the vinegar test on his patients since 2010. He says it is very simple, and unlike other tests, which can be costly, and require sending cell samples to a laboratory. With the vinegar test, he says, any problems can be seen immediately and treated during the same visit.

斯坦尼斯拉斯·保罗·内比埃(Stanislas Paul Nebie)医生自2010年以来一直对病人采用这种白醋检测方法。他说，这种检测方法非常简单，而且不像其它检测方法非常昂贵，且需要将细胞样本送往实验室。他说，有了这种白醋检测法，任何问题都能很快被发现并治疗。

At a medical center in Ouagadougou, women pay $4 for the test and treatment for any cells that show signs of cancer.

在瓦加杜古的某医疗中心，妇女支付4美元就能对任何有癌症迹象的细胞进行检测和治疗。

Dr. Nebie says this is a good deal, considering the high cost of radiology or surgical treatments if the cancer is not caught early. He said medical centers, even in rural villages, can and are performing the vinegar test and suggesting patients for treatment.

内比埃医生说，考虑到如果未及早发现癌症，需要高昂的放射治疗或手术治疗费用，这是一笔很划算的买卖。他说，任何医疗中心，哪怕是在偏远农村，都能进行这种白醋检测，并对患者提供治疗建议。

Burkina Faso does not yet have numbers for how many lives the vinegar test has saved. But doctors in India announced earlier this year that the test had cut cervical cancer deaths by 31 percent in a study there. They said the study involved 150,000 women.

布基纳法索尚未有白醋检测法挽救了多少生命的数据。但印度医生今年早些时候宣布，在该国的一项研究中，这种检测方法将宫颈癌死亡率降低了31%。他们说该研究涉及15万名妇女。

Most cervical cancer comes as a result of the human papillomavirus, which is passed through sexual contact. The disease often has few signs until it reaches advanced stage and becomes more difficult to treat. Women simply do not know they have it, sometimes until it is too late.

大多数宫颈癌源于人类乳头状瘤病毒，这种病毒通过性接触传播。宫颈癌通常很少有症状，直到进入晚期并变得更加难以治疗。妇女们根本不知道自己患病，有时发现时已为时太晚。