美國的衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)會為冠狀病毒病例的激增做好準備嗎?

美國的衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)會為冠狀病毒病例的激增做好準備嗎?

Another U.S. case of infection with the novel coronavirus was confirmed Thursday, bringing the total number of domestic cases to 15. Around the world, cases have reached nearly 60.000 to date.

周四，美國又確診一例新型冠狀病毒感染病例，使美國國內(nèi)病例總數(shù)達到15例。在世界各地，迄今為止，病例已達近6萬例。

But if something changes and large numbers of people get infected in the U.S., is the country's health system prepared to cope with a surge of patients with this virus, or any future pathogen?

但是，如果情況發(fā)生變化，美國有大量的人被感染，這個國家的衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)是否準備好應(yīng)對這種病毒或任何未來病原體患者的激增?

"Surge capacity in the health care system is something that we think a lot about and prepare for in the U.S., and not specifically to coronavirus per se, but for a whole host of events that could occur in the United States," says Jonathan Greene, director of emergency management and medical operations at the Department of Health and Human Services.

衛(wèi)生與公眾服務(wù)部應(yīng)急管理和醫(yī)療行動主任喬納森·格林表示：“我們在美國對醫(yī)療保健系統(tǒng)的激增能力進行了很多考慮和準備，并不是特別針對冠狀病毒本身，而是針對可能在美國發(fā)生的一系列事件。”

Greene points out that the likelihood of the average American coming down with the virus, if the person has not traveled to China or come into close contact with someone who has, remains "extremely low." Public health officials have repeatedly cautioned that there are currently no signs of community transmission.

格林指出，普通美國人感染病毒的可能性仍然“極低”，如果這個人沒有去過中國，也沒有與有過這種病毒的人有過密切接觸。公共衛(wèi)生官員一再警告說，目前沒有社區(qū)傳播的跡象。

Even so, Greene says the federal agency is working to be able to treat thousands of patients if need be.

盡管如此，格林說，聯(lián)邦機構(gòu)正在努力，如果需要的話，能夠治療數(shù)千名患者。

But other experts are skeptical about the U.S. capacity to handle a severe epidemic with a sudden surge of thousands of infections.

但其他專家對美國處理嚴重疫情的能力表示懷疑，因為感染人數(shù)突然激增數(shù)千人。

"No one is ready for a worst case-scenario for a really bad, lethal, fast-moving pandemic," says bioterrorism and biosafety expert Dr. Tara O'Toole, former undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security and now at In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit strategic investment firm that supports U.S. national security.

生物恐怖主義和生物安全專家塔拉·奧圖爾博士說：“沒有人準備好迎接最壞的情況--一場非常糟糕、致命、快速蔓延的流行病。”奧圖爾博士曾擔任國土安全部負責科學和技術(shù)的副部長，現(xiàn)在供職于支持美國國家安全的非營利性戰(zhàn)略投資公司In-Q-Tele.

For instance, O'Toole thinks that hospitals would have a very hard time handling a lot of critically ill patients who need to be in isolation. "That's why we want to make sure that the people we're putting in hospitals and keeping isolated are really the ones who need that kind of care," she says.

例如，奧圖爾認為，醫(yī)院將很難處理許多需要隔離的危重病人。“這就是為什么我們要確保我們送進醫(yī)院并保持隔離的人是真正需要這種護理的人，”她說。

Greene says plans are in place to address this issue. "One of the ways we do that is through the expansion of telemedicine or the ability to utilize other types of facilities to treat patients that don't need the type of acute care that someone who has severe respiratory distress might require."

格林說，已經(jīng)制定了解決這個問題的計劃。“我們做到這一點的方法之一是通過擴大遠程醫(yī)療或利用其他類型的設(shè)施來治療那些不需要急性護理的病人，而那些有嚴重呼吸困難的人可能需要這種護理。”

Plans are also underway to work with emergency medical service systems to transport patients if need be to facilities other than hospital emergency departments.

還在計劃與緊急醫(yī)療服務(wù)系統(tǒng)合作，在需要時將患者運送到醫(yī)院急診科以外的設(shè)施。

In Portland, Ore., Dr. Dawn Nolt, an infectious disease specialist at Oregon Health & Science University, says her hospital has protocols in place to screen patients for dangerous infectious disease.

在俄勒岡州的波特蘭，俄勒岡健康與科學大學的傳染病專家童恩諾爾特博士說，她的醫(yī)院已經(jīng)制定了篩查患者危險傳染病的方案。

"These protocols have been established since the onset of Ebola, and we have used them to screen patients who have come in with very many infections, including ones such as SARS and MERS," she says. And today, the hospital follows guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when screening patients for symptoms of the new virus, such as fever and cough.

她說：“自從埃博拉病毒爆發(fā)以來，我們就建立了這些方案，我們用它們來篩查那些感染了很多病毒的患者，包括SARS和MERS。”今天，醫(yī)院在篩查患者是否有發(fā)燒和咳嗽等新病毒癥狀時，會遵循疾病控制和預(yù)防中心的指導。

"If they have been to China, we would escort them into a private room to remove them from other patients and visitors," Nolt says. They would be evaluated, and if it's determined patients are infected or suspected of being infected with the coronavirus, they would be placed in what's called "airborne isolation," she says.

諾爾特說：“如果他們?nèi)ミ^中國，我們會護送他們進入一間私人房間，把他們從其他病人和訪客那里帶走。”她說，他們將接受評估，如果確定患者感染或懷疑感染了冠狀病毒，他們將被置于所謂的“空氣隔離”中。

This is a precaution used to prevent the spread of germs through the air or dust. Typically, this is a private room that has an air-exchange system that prevents germs from leaving the room.

這是一種預(yù)防措施，用來防止細菌通過空氣或灰塵傳播。通常情況下，這是一個私人房間，有一個空氣交換系統(tǒng)，可以防止細菌離開房間。

The hospital has conducted drills to prepare for patients who have to be isolated, as did the hospital in Washington state where the first patient identified with the new coronavirus was taken. Nationwide, many hospitals have engaged in similar drills.

醫(yī)院已經(jīng)進行了演練，為必須隔離的患者做準備，華盛頓州的醫(yī)院也是如此，該醫(yī)院接收了第一例確診為新型冠狀病毒的患者。在全國范圍內(nèi)，許多醫(yī)院都進行了類似的演習。