By ZOE MAGEE, LAUREN COX, KATE BARRETT and DAN CHILDS
April 28, 2009
The swine flu virus(猪流感病毒) outbreak escalated(逐步升级、扩大) today, with the total number of cases confirmed in the United States jumping to 71 and spreading to two more states, health officials said. Experts expect that figure to keep rising.
"I do expect more cases and expect more states to be affected," Rear Admiral Dr. Anne Schuchat, interim deputy director(临时代理负责人) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's science and public health program, told a Senate hearing(参议院听证会) today. "I think we need to be prepared that even if it starts to look a little better, it may get a little worse."
To fight the epidemic(流行病), the Obama administration is asking Congress for $1.5 billion. White House press secretary(新闻秘书) Robert Gibbs said the president was requesting the funds "out of an abundance of caution" to "enhance our nation's capability to respond to the potential spread of this outbreak."
The government's request underscores how seriously U.S. officials are treating the threat. Alarmed by the growing number of swine flu cases and the possibility that a California man may have died from the disease, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency(紧急状态) today to help deal with the outbreak.
expect：此处的expect意为“预计”，不是“期待”。