VOA慢速英語: 致命性脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒（小兒麻痹癥）是否存在？（雙語）

Is There a Deadly Polio Virus Hiding Somewhere?

致命性脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒(小兒麻痹癥)是否存在?

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道

Is a new deadly polio virus hiding somewhere in the world? Some scientists believe this might be the case.

是有一種新的致命性脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒(小兒麻痹癥)隱藏在這個世界的某個角落嗎?一些科學(xué)家認(rèn)為可能就是就是如此。

Polio does not usually kill. The disease can cause paralysis, leaving victims unable to walk or move parts of their bodies.

脊髓灰質(zhì)炎通常不會致命，但是會導(dǎo)致癱瘓，使得受害者無法行走或移動自己的身體的一些部位。

But polio was deadly during a 2010 spread of the virus in the Republic of Congo. Nearly half of the 445 people infected with the virus died.

但2010年脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒在剛果的傳播卻是致命的，這一次使得感染此病毒的445人中將近一半的人死亡。

VOA’s Steve Baragona reports that new research says there might have been a weak spot in the polio vaccine. A mutated, or changed, polio virus was able to resist the antibodies created by the vaccine. The study says a mutated polio virus was responsible for that unusually deadly outbreak.

美國之音的史蒂夫·巴拉戈納報道稱，新的研究表明脊髓灰質(zhì)炎疫苗可能有一個弱點。一種變異脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒成功抵御了疫苗產(chǎn)生的抗體。該研究表明，一種變異脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒導(dǎo)致了剛果的不同尋常的致命性疾病爆發(fā)。

The researchers of the study say their findings show new and dangerous kinds, or strains, of polio may emerge as the goal of getting rid of the virus nears.

這項研究的研究人員稱，他們的研究結(jié)果表明，隨著這種近似病毒的消除，新型或危險類型的脊髓灰質(zhì)炎可能會出現(xiàn)。

Scientist Felix Drexler studies viruses at the University of Bonn in Germany. He says the patients in the Congo outbreak were unusual in an important way.

在德國波恩大學(xué)研究病毒的科學(xué)家菲利克斯·德雷克斯勒稱，在剛果疾病暴發(fā)中的病人在某些方面很不尋常。

“About half of them remembered having taken three doses of live vaccine. That made it even more bizarre, because if they had been vaccinated, they shouldn’t be sick.”

“他們中其中近一半的人回憶稱注射過三劑活疫苗，這樣就更加離奇了，因為如果他們接種過疫苗，就不會患病的。”

Mr. Drexler and researchers in Europe and Africa studied that polio virus. They found it had some new mutations. The mutations prevented antibodies that fight the virus from attaching to the virus.

德雷克斯勒先生和歐洲以及非洲的研究人員一起研究了脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)這種病毒有了一些新的突變，這種突變阻止了對抗這種病毒的抗體依附到病毒上。

“We thought, ‘Wow, maybe that could affect the ability of the antibodies in human blood to neutralize the virus.’ And yes, it did.”

“當(dāng)時我們就想，‘奧，這可能會影響人類血液中的抗體壓制此病毒的能力。’而且，事實正是如此。”

The researchers reported their findings in the publication, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They tested the virus in Germany against blood samples from people with better than average vaccination coverage.

研究人員在《美國國家科學(xué)院院刊》上發(fā)表了他們的研究結(jié)果，他們測試了德國對抗這種病毒的人血樣本，這些人血樣本都來自超出一般疫苗接種覆蓋率的人群。

“高達(dá)30%的人實際上已經(jīng)被認(rèn)為完全不受(疫苗接種)保護。”

“Up to 30 percent actually had to be considered completely unprotected.”

“實際上，其中多達(dá)30%的人被認(rèn)為是完全不受所接種疫苗保護的。”

The Republic of Congo had been polio free before the 2010 outbreak. It took four nationwide immunization campaigns to stop the mutated virus.

剛果共和國在2010年這次病毒爆發(fā)之前，一直沒有出現(xiàn)過脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒。剛果采取了四次全國性免疫運動來阻止該變異病毒。

Felix Drexler says the effort worked because almost every man, woman and child got vaccinated with the strongest form of the vaccine.

德雷克斯勒稱，因為幾乎男女老少所有人都接種了最強類型的疫苗，所以該措施起到了效果。

Historically, the polio vaccine has worked. But Mr. Drexler and others are now wondering how well it works.

從歷史上來看，脊髓灰質(zhì)炎疫苗是有效果的，但是德雷克斯勒先生和其他研究人員想知道該疫苗在多大程度上有效果。

“The question that the experts are asking is, is the vaccine good enough to enable us to eradicate polio virus?”

“專家們想知道的是，該疫苗是否足夠好到可以根除灰質(zhì)炎病毒。”

Experts say the end of polio is near. There have been fewer than 150 cases in the world this year. And the virus is found mostly in just three countries.

專家們稱，脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒很快就會被消滅，今年全球只有不到150個病例，而且該病毒僅僅有三個國家發(fā)現(xiàn)有該病毒的存在。

Olen Kew studies viruses with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He says the problem in Congo was not the vaccine. He notes that the vaccine has prevented the polio virus everywhere it has been used. He blames Congo’s civil unrest in the 1990s and early 2000s that had messed up vaccination campaigns.

在美國疾病控制和預(yù)防中心研究病毒的Olen Kew稱，剛果的問題不在于疫苗，他指出，在各個地方用此疫苗都預(yù)防了脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒的傳播。他指責(zé)稱，剛果在上世紀(jì)90年代和本世紀(jì)初的內(nèi)亂打亂了疫苗接種運動。

“What happened in Congo was, it hadn’t been used for quite a long period of time and a susceptible group opened up. And then when the virus was introduced, it had devastating effects.”

“剛果是因為在很長一段時間內(nèi)，未接種該疫苗，從而導(dǎo)致剛果產(chǎn)生了一批易感染人群，然后當(dāng)這種病毒來臨時，就會產(chǎn)生毀滅性的影響。”

Walt Orenstein is with the Emory Vaccine Center. He says stronger vaccines might be helpful. But, he adds, the end of polio is very close. He believes that the tools currently in use could do the job.

在埃默里疫苗中心工作的沃爾特·奧倫斯坦稱，更強的疫苗可能會有用。但是他補充道脊髓灰質(zhì)炎很快就會被消滅。并認(rèn)為目前接種的這種疫苗就能做到這點。

“I think the most important message, to me, is we need to push hard and push fast and terminate transmission as quickly as possible.”

“我認(rèn)為對我來說最重要的信息就是，我們需要更努力更快的推動疫苗的接種，從而盡可能快的結(jié)束該病毒的傳播。”

“對我來說最重要的信息就是，我們需要更努力更快地推動接種，并盡可能快地終止病毒傳播。”

Mr. Orenstein says that health workers need to clear the last few areas where the polio virus exists. Then, he says, talk about mutant strains or stronger vaccines would be unnecessary.

奧倫斯坦先生稱，醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生人員需要去脊髓灰質(zhì)炎病毒存在的最后幾個地區(qū)，做清除工作。并稱那時，就再也沒有必要討論什么突變毒株或什么更厲害的他疫苗了。

I’m Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·馬特奧。