AIDS’ThreattoAsiaGrows NEWDELHI-Justafewyearsago.Malawasatypicalmiddle-classIndianhousewife.Shecooked,cleanedandlookedafterhertwosmallchildren. Lastyear,herlifetookatragicturn.HerhusbanddiedofAIDS;shewasfoundoutHIV-positive(爱滋病病毒检验呈阳性反应)andhermother-in-lawtookherchildrenawayfromher,sayingtheywouldgetthedisease.“Whenfriendsdroppedforavisit,shewouldintroduceme,saying,‘Sheismyson’swidow.ShehasAIDS,’”saidMala.AIDSisnowdescribedas“explosive(炸药)“aroundtheworld.AstudyofahospitalintheportcityofDurbaninSouthAfrica,wheretheworld’sbiggestandAfrica’sfirstAIDSconferenceopenedlastSunday,foundthatalmosthalfthebedsinmedicalwards(病房)wereoccupiedbyAIDSpatients. SouthAfricahasoneoftheworld’sfastestgrowingHIVinfections(传染),with1,700peopleinfecteddaily,addingtothe4.3million,or10percentofitspopulation,livingwithHIV.Untilnow,AsiahasbeenmoresuccessfulinholdingtheAIDSvirus(病毒)thanAfrica,wherethediseasehaskilledabout12millionpeople. AIDSisnowthreateningtosurroundmanyofAsia’spoverty-strickencountries.CountriesinAsia,suchasCambodia,andThailand,haveHIVinfectionspeedsover1percent.Butthelowspeedshidehugenumbersofaffectedpeople,becauseofthepopulationbase. InIndia,forexample,3.7millionareinfected,morethaninanyothercountryexceptSouthAfrica.InChina,anestimated500,000people,mainlydrugusers,livewithHIV/AIDS.GordonAlexander,asenioadvisorforUNAIDSinIndia,estimates(估计)thatthenumberhitbyAIDSinAsiawillclimbabouteightmillionoverthenextfiveyearsfromaboutsixmillion. InmanyAsiancountries,thebattleagainstHIVisasocialandculturaloneagainstpublicdiscussionofsexualhealthputanationwidemediacampaignintoACTiontolimitthespeedofHIVthroughunsafesex.BrentonWong,anofficialforSingapore’sACTionforAIDS,saystheACTualHIVincidenceinthecitystateof3.9millionpeopleisatleasteighttimeshigherthanofficialdata.”Shameanddenyisstillvery,verycommonsopeopleareafraidtogettestedandmanytimeswon’teventelltheirfamiliesiftheytestpositive,”saidWong.4.__________isthesecondlargestcountrywhichhasmoreHIVinfectionallovertheworld.
Althoughmanyofusmayfeelair-conditionersbringrelieffromhot,humidorpollutedoutsideair,theyposemanypotentialhealthhazards.Muchresearchhaslookedathowthemovementofairinsideaclosedenvironment---suchasanofficebuilding---canspreaddiseaseorexposepeopleinthebuildingtoharmfulchemicals.OneofthemorewidelypublicizeddangersisthatofLegionnaire’sdisease,whichwasfirstrecognizedinthe1970s.Thiswasfoundtohaveaffectedpeopleinbuildingswithair-conditioningsystemsinwhichwarmairpumpedoutofthesystem’coolingtowerswassomehowsuckedbackintotheairintake(通风口),inmostcasesduetopoordesign.Thewarmair,filledwithbacteria,wascombinedwithcooled,conditionedairandwasthencirculatedaroundvariouspartsofthebuilding.Studiesshowedthatevenpeopleoutsidesuchbuildingswereatriskiftheywalkedpastairexhaustpipes.Largeair-conditioningsystemsaddwatertotheairtheycirculatebymeansofhumidifiers(湿度调节器).Inoldersystems,thewaterusedforthisprocessiskeptinspecialreservoirs,thebottomsofwhichprovidebreedinggroundsforbacteriawhichcanfindtheirwayintotheventilation(通风)system.Therisktohumanhealthfromthissituationhasbeenhighlightedbythefactthattheimmunesystems(免疫系统)ofapproximatelyhalfofworkersinair-conditionedofficebuildingshavedevelopedtheabilitytofightofftheorganismsfoundatthebottomofsystemreservoirs.Butchemicalscalled“biocides”areaddedtoreservoirstomakethemgerm-free,andtheyaredangerousintheirownrightinsufficientquantities,astheyoftencontaincompoundsstronglylinkedtocancers.Finally,itshouldbepointedoutthattheartificialclimaticenvironmentcreatedbyair-conditionerscanalsoaffectus.Inanaturalenvironment,whetherindoororoutdoor,therearesmallvariationsintemperatureandhumidity.Indeed,thehumanbodyhaslongbeenaccustomedtothesenormalchanges.Inanair-conditionedlivingorworkingenvironment,however,bodytemperaturesremainwellunder37℃,ournormaltemperature.Thisleadstoaweakenedimmunesystemandthusgreaterexposuretodiseasessuchascoldsandflu.2.Intheoldair-conditionedsystems,bacteriafirstdevelop______.