Question

An oral drug, named ERDRP-0519, was invented. It is specifically designed to protect people who got infected measles(麻疹) from spreading the virus to others. Like the flu, measles spreads through the air by breathing, coughing or sneezing. There is typically a time, about two weeks, between becoming infected with the virus and the beginning of symptoms like skin rash(皮疹), runny nose, heavy cough and high fever.

“This therapy application determines the desired characteristics of the drug, which are orally available, cost-effective manufacture and high stability,” Richard Klemperer, professor of Georgia State University, told reporters last Wednesday.

“With these criteria in mind, we have developed a small drug that blocks the measles virus over the past years, which is essential for copy of the virus.”

The researchers tested the drug in rats infected with canine distemper virus(犬瘟病) , which is a close relative of measles virus. They found that all of the infected rats treated with the drug survived the deadly infection, showed no clinical signs of disease and developed a strong protective immune response.

The drug could be used to treat friends, family and other social contacts of a person infected with measles virus, which have not developed symptoms yet but are at risk of having caught the disease, Klemperer said truthfully.

“The emergence of strong antiviral immunity(抗病毒免疫力) in treated animals is particularly encouraging, since it suggests that the drug may not only save an infected individual from disease but contribute to closing measles immunity gaps in a population,” Klemperer said.

The researchers emphasized the drug is not intended as a substitute for vaccination, but as an additional weapon to get rid of the measles. They planned to test the drug’s safety in larger animals, before moving into clinical trials in humans.

“If our next series of studies confirms that the human situation mirrors what we have seen in rats, then this drug may make a major contribution to getting rid of measles by preventing local outbreaks” Klemperer said.

Despite the existence of an effective vaccine, annual measles deaths worldwide have remained constant at around 150,000 since 2007. The reasons for this are the highly infectious nature of the virus, in the developing world largely due to issues of resources, and in many developed countries in particular in the European region due to parental concerns regarding vaccination safety.

1.If a boy got infected by measles virus, he might NOT show the symptom like ________.

A. runny nose B. bad cough

C. high fever D. sick stomach

2. From what Klemperer said, we know that the drug _________.

A. is only intended as a substitute for vaccination

B. can only save those infected individuals from disease

C. is cost-effective and high stability for curing measles

D. has the same effect on human as on larger animals

3.The best title of the passage is_________ .

A. the Introduction of a New Oral Drug

B. the Desired Characteristics of Drugs

C. the Common Symptoms of Getting Measles

D. the Application of Post-exposure Therapy

Answer 1