Carried by the female anopheles mosquito, malaria is a disease of the poor. In rural Africa, it is killing the young and the vulnerable. The need for a vaccine which would dramatically reduce mortality has never been greater. Dedicated teams of scientists all over the world at universities, at commercial laboratories, and in small front-line labs buried deep in malaria infested forests, search for answers to the malaria enigma.
One such laboratory is the Tropical Diseases Research Unit at Lambaréné in Gabon on the west coast of central Africa. The research unit is part of the famous hospital built on the banks of the Ogooué River in 1913 by Doctor Albert Schweitzer. Very much an outpost in the jungle, Lambaréné is on the forefront of malaria research. Its team includes people from Gabon, other African nations, Europe and the Middle East. And it's headed up by parasitology professor Peter Kermsner of the University of Tübingen in Germany.
“Malaria is a serious problem in the whole of the tropical world, especially in Africa, or here in Gabon. About 400 million cases are seen every year, and about one to two million, especially children in Africa, die because of malaria. We see around ten cases a day, sometimes twenty, thirty malaria cases a day. A year round we see 5000-8000 malaria cases in our unit.”
Staffers from the research unit regularly visit villages throughout Gabon, they also investigate ways to control the spread of malaria in these villages. When they find suspected cases, they bring the patient back to the Schweitzer hospital. But patients also find their own way here, sometimes from far away. The hospital treats thousands of Gabonese every year, saving lives and doing continuous research into the causes and prevention of malaria. An important part of Schweitzer’s village hospital concept is the accommodation of patients and their relatives. For about $ 13, a patient receives a package that includes a doctor's consultation, medical tests and medication.
Hospitalized patients may also bring along their family or friends. The pediatric ward is filled with children, 1/4 to 1/3 of them malaria cases. In the shadow of malaria's many fatalities, the doctors of the research unit sometimes take turns working around the clock and hoping that one day soon, a vaccine will be found.
参考中文翻译：
疟疾由雌性疟蚊传播，是穷人的疾病。在非洲的农村地区，疟疾带走了幼儿和弱者的生命。对于急剧降低死亡率的疫苗的需求非常大。来自世界各地大学，商业性实验室和小的前沿实验室的科学家们深入疟疾密布的森林，研究疟疾之谜的答案。
其中一个这样的实验室是位于非洲中部西海岸的加蓬的热带疾病研究中心。该研究中心是1912年由Albert Schweitzer医生在Ogooué河岸创立的著名的医院的一部分。Lambaréné位于丛林的前沿，所以该研究中心是疟疾研究的最前线。该研究团队的人员来自加蓬，其他非洲国家，欧洲和中东地区，由德国Tübingen大学的寄生虫学教授Peter Kermsner 领导。
“疟疾在整个热带地区，尤其是非洲和加蓬，是非常严重的问题。每年大约有4亿个病例，非洲每年有一两百万儿童死于疟疾。我们每天能看到大约10个病例，有时候每天有20甚至30个。我们中心每年见到5000至8000个疟疾病人。”
该研究中心的采访记者经常出入于加蓬的村庄，他们同时也会调查控制疟疾在这些村庄之间传播的方法。当他们发现疑似病例时，会将病人带回Schweitzer医院。但是病人在这里也找到了自己的方法。该医院每年治疗数千名加蓬人，拯救他们的生命，并且不断的研究疟疾的病因和防治方法。Schweitzer乡村医院理念的一个重要部分就是对病人和他们亲属的适应。大约花费13美元，病人就可以得到包括医生咨询，医疗测试和药物在内的一系列服务。
就医的病人也可以带他们的家人或朋友一起来。儿科病房里住满了孩子，四分之一到三分之一是疟疾病人。在疟疾仪器的影子下，研究中心的医生经常轮班工作，希望有一天可以发现疟疾疫苗。
单词注解：
anopheles n. 疟蚊
mosquito n. 蚊子
vulnerable a. 易受伤害的,有弱点的
mortality n. 必死的命运,死亡数目,死亡率
vaccine n. 疫苗
v. 疫苗的,牛痘的
infested v. 骚扰,群居于,大批出没
pediatric a. 儿科的
