Swine Flu

 Recommend this awesome for Brazilians students from Brazil, for more info get in touch through www.maganews.com.br and take out a subscription. Affordable price.

Public health

Swine flu sweeps through Brazil

There are two reasons for this spread - one is winter. Cold weather helps flu proliferate. The other reason is that the Influenza A virus spreads more easily than the regular flu virus

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza A virus, also known as H1N1. It is passed from person to person and its symptoms are similar to those for regular flu. One of the few differences is that swine flu has a greater impact on the respiratory system, causing a serious loss of breath. The only way to know for sure if a person has or has not been infected by the virus is by laboratory examination. Most people infected recover in seven days, with medical treatment. Up to May 10^th only eight Brazilians had been infected with Influenza A. In the weeks that followed this number began to climb rapidly. On July 22^nd over 1,200 people in Brazil had been infected (and 22 had died) with over 4,000 suspected cases having been investigated. Public and private schools in the States most affected by the disease - such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul, amongst others - have decided to put back the return to class. The idea is to try to contain the outbreak of swine flu. In some schools, class restarts on August 10th, and in others, August 17th. 

Flu vaccine will only be ready in 2010

According to the Ministry of Health, certain groups of people run a greater risk of becoming infected: children under two, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with a history of chronic disease (cancer and diabetes, for example). Why? These people have lower immunity. The government says that Brazil will only begin to produce a vaccine against Influenza A in 2010. In July the government began a prevention campaign against this new flu.  To avoid contamination you must wash your hands well with soap and water several times a day, cover your mouth and nose with a disposable handkerchief when you cough or sneeze, and not share such personal objects as cups, cutlery, and dishes.

Áudio – David Hatton

Matéria publicada na edição de número 50 da Revista Maganews – que vem acompanhada de um Cd que traz outros 18 áudios de matérias em inglês, nas vozes de David e Aasita.

Ilustração – Ministério da Saúde (campanha de controle da epidemia)

Vocabulary

1 swine flu – gripe suína

2 to sweep – se alastrar / se espalhar (the same as “to spread”)

3 cold weather – frio / baixa temperatura

4 regular flu – gripe comum

5 loss of breath – aqui = falta de ar

6 to climb – subir

7 to put back - adiar

8 run a greater risk – corre um  risco maior

9 soap – sabão

10 mouth – boca

11 nose - nariz

12 handkerchief – lenço

13 to cough - tossir

14 to sneeze – espirrar

15 to share – compartilhar

16 cutlery – talheres

17 dish - prato