SARS: Tracking an Elusive Killer（科学美国人）

特深沉

SARS: Tracking an Elusive Killer（科学美国人）

http://www.sciam.com/

April 08, 2003
SARS, the mysterious respiratory illness that is crisscrossing the globe, has claimed at least nine more victims since Saturday. The disease's overall mortality rate, approximately 4 percent, is roughly equal to that of measles, but the uncertainty surrounding its cause and how it spreads continues to make it a serious public health issue. In addition, the threat of SARS continues to disrupt international business and tourism.

SARS,这种神秘的呼吸道疾病正在全球肆虐。自上周末以来，又有至少9名牺牲品。该病的总死亡率，大约4%，大概接近疟疾，但病因和传播方式的不确定使它继续成为严重的公共健康问题。另外，SARS的威胁持续破坏国际商业和旅游业。

As of Monday afternoon, the disease had claimed 98 lives and infected more than 2,600 hundred people around the globe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating 115 suspected cases of SARS in the U.S.; and in Toronto, the North American city most affected by SARS, 10 people have died. All of the victims had traveled to Asia or had direct contact with a SARS-infected patient in a home or hospital setting, according to Paul Gully, senior director general of the population and public health branch of Health Canada.

到周一下午，该病已夺去98条生命，全球感染者超过26万人（依照世界卫生组织WHO）。疾病控制中心（CDC）研究了美国的115名疑似SARS病例；在Toronto（北美感染最严重的城市），有10人死亡。所有的死者都曾去过亚洲，或同SARS感染者在家庭或医院有过直接接触。（Paul Gully，加拿大公共卫生部高级主管）

The relative ease of international travel has been critical in allowing SARS to affect regions around the globe. Indeed, WHO has advised travelers to postpone nonessential trips to Hong Kong Special Administration Region and China's Guangdong Province, where the disease originated in November. In part because of decreased demand for the route, Continental Airlines announced on Monday that it would suspend nonstop service from Newark Airport to Hong Kong as of Thursday until the end of May. The WHO has also suggested screening all international travelers leaving any of the seven affected areas in Canada, Vietnam, China and Singapore. Travelers leaving Toronto's Pearson Airport, for instance, are now greeted with pink Health Alert Notices that outline the symptoms of the disease and advise travelers to postpone their trips if they meet one of the following criteria: they are experiencing SARS symptoms, which include high fever, chills, sore throat, cough or difficulty breathing; they have had contact with a SARS-infected person in the past 10 days; or they have visited a public health facility that has been affected by SARS.Ticket agents will also question passengers more thoroughly regarding their understanding of SARS later this week, according to Health Canada officials. In addition, passengers on flights to and from Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore will be asked en route to fill out questionnaires and provide contact information for the two weeks following their arrival.

相对容易的国际旅行被认为有助于SARS在世界广泛传播。实际上，WHO曾建议旅行者推迟不必要的到香港和中国广东的行程，那里在11月最早发现该病。部分原因是该路线需求减少，大陆航空在周一宣布它从周四会停飞Newark到香港的航线，直到五月末。WHO也建议所有的国际旅行者离开7个感染最严重的地区：加拿大，越南，中国和新加坡。比如，离开加拿大机场的旅行者，会得到粉红健康警告通知，描述了该病的症状，还建议旅行者如有以下情况，请推迟行程：有 SARS症状，包括高烧，发冷，喉咙疼，咳嗽，呼吸困难；在过去10天里同SARS感染者接触过；曾去过被SARS感染的公共卫生场所。售票代理也会更详细地询问旅客，他们对近来SARS了解（依照加拿大卫生部门）。另外，到北京，香港，新加坡的旅客，要填写路线调查表，提供他们两周内的联系方法。

The WHO now has 11 laboratories in nine countries working to find the causative agent behind SARS and to develop a reliable diagnostic test. A previously unknown type of corona virus is the leading candidate for the cause of SARS, according to the CDC. The novel virus is present in 60 percent of Canada's cases of SARS, says Frank Plumber, the science director general of Health Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg. "There is a link," he says, "but it's not as solid as I would like to see it." Because 40 percent of the country's SARS patients did not test positive for the pathogen, Plumber suspects that the new corona virus is not the only cause of the disease. "It's definitely a new virus and it's definitely circulating," he comments, but the question remains whether something else could be responsible for the illness.

WHO在9个国家现有11个实验室，努力寻找SARS的病原体，发展可靠的诊断方法。先前的不明品种的冠状病毒是首要的SARS候选原因（依据CDC）。（位于Winnipeg的加拿大国家微生物实验室主管）Frank Plumber说，在加拿大60%的SARS病例发现新型病毒。他说，“这些有关系。但还不能肯定。”因为有40%的SARS患者没有检测到该病原体。Plumber怀疑，新型冠状病毒不是该病的唯一原因。“这很明显是新病毒，它明显在传播。”他解释说，是否有其他原因仍是个问题。

Currently no treatment for SARS itself exists, but doctors can treat the symptoms. People potentially exposed to the virus are asked to quarantine themselves for 10 days to reduce the spread of the disease. So far, thousands of people in the greater Toronto area have been quarantined. Last Friday, President Bush signed an executive order that added SARS to the list of diseases for which public health officials can forcibly quarantine Americans if they do not agree to do so on their own. It was the first such addition in two decades. --Sarah Graham

目前，SARS没有针对它本身的治疗方法，但医生能治疗症状。曾暴露在病毒中人们被要求隔离10天，减少疾病传播。因此，在多伦多有数千人曾被隔离。上周五，BUSH总统签署命令，将SARS加入疾病列表，公共卫生部门可以强制隔离美国人，如果有人拒绝自愿隔离。这是最近20年中第一次出现。

SARS Information from the CDC

SARS Information from WHO

bernie

听说死的都是老人小孩和慢性病患者，咱们可千万别得上。

大排长

谁得了，说一声，也许不死就把HBV冲掉了。

低科技

我的DNA无故阴了，是不是非典了。