
A five-year-old boy who had chickenpox (n.水痘) died yesterday morning from suspected (adj.懷疑的) scarlet (n.鮮紅、猩紅) fever (n.發熱).
That came as the Centre for Health Protection (n.生防護中心) declared that Hong Kong (n.香港) is facing an epidemic (n.流行病、疫症) of scarlet fever - a childhood (n.童年) scourge (n.禍害) that has mutated (v.變異).
"We are facing an epidemic because the bacteria (n.細菌) causing scarlet fever is widely circulating (v.流行) in this region - not only in Hong Kong but neighboring (adj.鄰近的) places such as the mainland (n.大陸) and Macau (n.澳門)," said centre controller (n.總監) Thomas Tsang Ho-fai (n.曾浩輝).
He was referring (v.提到) to Streptococcus pyogenes (n.釀膿鏈球菌、甲類鏈球菌), the bacterium (n.細菌) that causes scarlet fever. Symptoms (n.症狀) include fever, body rashes (n.紅疹) and a strawberry(n.草莓)-colored tongue and the disease usually affects children between two and eight years of age.
The boy had chickenpox, body rashes and fever from last Wednesday and had seen a doctor for chickenpox, the centre said. He was admitted (v.准許進入) to Prince of Wales Hospital (n.威爾斯親王醫院) on Sunday and transferred (v.轉移) within hours to Princess Margaret Hospital (n.瑪嘉烈醫院) after taking a turn (n.變化) for the worse. He then developed toxic (adj.中毒(性)的) shock (n.休克) syndrome (n.綜合症).
(The Standard, June 22)
一名患上水痘的五歲男孩,昨日早上懷疑因猩紅熱喪生。
生防護中心公布,香港正面臨一場猩紅熱疫症,而這種兒童疾病已經變異。
中心總監曾浩輝說:“我們正面臨一場疫症,因為引致猩紅熱的細菌已在區內廣泛流行——不但在香港,也包括大陸和澳門等鄰近地方。”
他提到的細菌,是引致猩紅熱的甲類鏈球菌。患者出現的症狀包括發熱、全身出現紅疹,以及舌頭呈草莓色。此病通常會侵襲二至八歲的小童。
中心透露,男童上周三出水痘、全身出疹和發熱,並看醫生診治水痘。他周日給送往威爾斯親王醫院,但由於病情轉壞,數小時後便轉往瑪嘉烈醫院,隨後他出現中毒性休克綜合症。
(《英文虎報》,六月二十二日)
閱讀指引
1. scarlet (n) /'sk?瑂:l?瑆t/,SCAR-lut 鮮紅、猩紅
解讀:scarlet即是鮮紅,very bright read;在十三世紀,此字本指高貴的布匹,而由於當時很多名貴布料都是鮮紅色,scarlet遂指這種顏色;中文所謂“猩紅”,源於猩猩的血是鮮紅色的。
2. claim (v) /kle?笈m/,CLAY-m 索取、奪走
解讀:claim可解作索取、要求領取,例如claim compensation是索取賠償、索償,claim from / on one's insurance是領取保險金;claim因而引申指奪走,尤其是生命,後面常用life / lives,例如the accident claimed four lives(這宗意外奪走了四條生命)。
3. scourge (n) /sk?捵:d?甝/,s-KUR-j 禍害、災禍
解讀:scourge本解作舊時行刑用的鞭子,後來便引申指禍害、災禍;它雖可數,但大多用單數形式;the scourge of disease / drought / famine / flood / poverty / war是疾病/旱災/饑荒/水災/貧窮/戰爭的災害。