英文記事で英語を学ぶ

Some 500 million people in the world, or one in 12, are afflicted with chronic liver disease, a prevalence far higher than HIV or any cancer.The local scenario is unfortunately not far behind the global scene -- one in every 20 Malaysians has chronic liver disease.
And health experts expect the figure to climb in coming years.

45% of office workers have fatty liver disease
They say many "healthy" individuals are walking time bombs, having been infected by the causing agent -- hepatitis B or C virus -- but remain undiagnosed.
Dubbed the silent killer, the virus has a way of inhabiting one's body for decades before showing its true colours.
By then, treatment could be futile, said liver specialist Prof Dr Rosmawati Mohamed.
Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver. Although there are five viruses that result in hepatitis, B and C are the only two that can cause chronic or long-term infection, killing some 1.5 million people a year.
Over 350 million people in Asia are living with either chronic hepatitis B or C, the leading cause of cirrhosis or scarring of the liver, and liver cancer in the Asia-Pacific region.
"It is alarming that three out of four chronic hepatitis B and C infections are residents in Asia," said Dr Rosmawati in an interview with New Sunday Times.
The enormity of the issue was duly recognised when the World Health Organisation sanctioned viral hepatitis as a global health issue for the first time last year.
As a result, July 28 was assigned as World Hepatitis Day.
This year, Malaysia and more than 70 other countries will set out to raise public awareness.
Dr Rosmawati, the organising chairperson of the local campaign, said low awareness was made worse by the fact that a large proportion of those infected did not know that they carried the virus.
"Definitely, there is consensus that the gap between the scale of the problem and awareness is wide."
To illustrate, Dr Rosmawati, a consultant hepatologist at University Malaya Medical Centre, pointed out the contrasting awareness levels in viral hepatitis and heart disease.
A Taiwanese study on over 20,000 subjects found the risk of contracting liver cancer in patients with hepatitis B to be 217 times higher than those without hepatitis.
It's a red alert for those who have already developed cirrhosis -- they are 961 times more at risk than hepatitis B-free people.

■単語
chronic
[形]((通例限定))
1 〈病気が〉慢性の（⇔acute）；〈悪い状態が〉長期にわたる
a chronic illness
慢性病，持病.
2 年来の；常習的な
a chronic alcoholic
慢性アルコール中毒患者.
3 ((英略式))いやな，ひどい.
［ラテン語←ギリシャ語chroniks （chrnos時間＋-IC＝時間の）］

dub
[動]（〜bed, 〜・bing）(他)
1 ［V[名][名]］…に（…というあだ名を）つける；…を（…と）呼ぶ
The overweight boy was dubbed "Hippo".
その太りすぎの少年はカバというあだ名で呼ばれた.
2 ((文))〈国王が〉（knightの爵位授与式で）…の肩を剣で軽くたたいて（ナイトの位を）授ける. ⇒ACCOLADE 1
3 〈木材・皮などを〉なめらかにする；仕上げる.
4 ((英))釣り＝dress(他)8.

inhabit
[動](他)
1 〈人・動物が〉〈ある場所に〉住む，居住［生息］する. ▼liveと異なり常に他動詞用法で，民族・部族などに用いることが多い
Fishermen inhabited the coastal village.
漁師たちは海辺の村に住んでいた
Animals inhabit the forest.
獣は森に生息する.
2 …に在存［内在］する，宿る.
［ラテン語inhabitre（in-中に＋habitre住む＝habre「持つ」の反復形）. △ABLE, HABIT, HABITATION］

futile
[形]
1 〈行為が〉役に立たない，むだな，むなしい，効果のない. ⇒USELESS[類語]
be futile to do
…してもむだである
He made a futile attempt to resist.
彼は抵抗しようとしたがむだだった.
2 （内容の）くだらない，取るに足りない
a futile idea
取るに足らない考え
waste one's time in futile talk
むだ話に時間を浪費する.
［ラテン語ftilis （fundere溶かす＋-ILE＝簡単に流れ出る→価値のない）. △FUSE1・2］

hepatitis
[名][U]病理(学)肝臓炎，肝炎
hepatitis A [B]
Ａ［Ｂ］型肝炎.

inflammation
[名]
1 [U]点火，引火，発火；燃えること；燃焼状態；盛んなさま，高揚.
2 [U][C]病理(学)炎症
cause inflammation of ...
…に炎症を起こす.

cirrhosis
[名][U]病理(学)肝硬変.

scarring
[名]傷(跡)

duly
[副]
1 正式に，正当に，適切に，十分に，しかるべく
a duly elected official
正式に選ばれた役員
The proposal should be duly considered.
その提案は十分に考慮すべきだ.
2 しかるべき時に；時間［期日］どおりに.