(C)
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that has spread through human populations
across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic
disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic. Further,
flu pandemics generally exclude recurrences of seasonal flu. Throughout history there have been a
number of pandemics, such as smallpox and tuberculosis. More recent pandemics include the HIV
pandemic and the H1N1 pandemics of 1918 and 2009.
In 2003, there were concerns that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a new and
highly contagious form of atypical pneumonia, might become pandemic. It is caused by a
coronavirus dubbed SARS-CoV. Rapid action by national and international health authorities such
as the World Health Organization (WHO) helped to slow transmission and eventually broke the
chain of transmission, which ended the localized epidemics before they could become a pandemic.
However, the disease has not been eradicated. It could re-emerge. This warrants monitoring and
reporting of suspicious cases of atypical pneumonia.
Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms may contribute to the re-emergence of diseases which are
currently well controlled. For example, cases of tuberculosis that are resistant to traditionally
effective treatments remain a cause of great concern to health professionals. Inappropriate antibiotic
treatment and overuse of antibiotics have been an element in the emergence of resistant bacteria. The
problem is further exacerbated by self-prescribing of antibiotics by individuals without the
guidelines of a qualified clinician and the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics as growth promoters in
agriculture.
【題組】59. What does the word ―exacerbate‖ mean in the third paragraph?
(A) relieve (B) enhance (C) highlight (D) aggravate
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