How we conquered the deadly smallpox virus - Simona Zompi

翻译人员: Yuyang Zhao 校对人员: Marini Qian

10,000 years ago,

一万年前，

a deadly virus arose in northeastern Africa.

在非洲东北部出现了一种致命的病毒。

The virus spread through the air,

这种病毒通过空气传播

attacking the skin cells,

感染皮肤细胞，

bone marrow,

骨髓，

spleen,

脾脏，

and lymph nodes of its victims.

以及淋巴系统。

The unlucky infected developed fevers,

不幸的感染者会高烧，

vomiting,

呕吐，

and rashes.

和皮疹。

30% of infected people died

百分之三十的感染者死亡

during the second week of infection.

在感染二周内。

Survivors bore scars and scabs

幸存者会留下伤疤和结痂

for the rest of their lives.

这些伴随其以后的生活。

Smallpox had arrived.

天花的出现。

In 1350 B.C., the first smallpox epidemics

公元前1350年，第一例天花感染病例

hit during the Egypt-Hittite war.

出现在埃及赫梯战争中。

Egyptian prisoners spread smallpox

埃及的囚犯将天花病毒

to the Hittites,

传播到赫梯地区，

which killed their king

赫梯国王也感染天花而亡

and devastated his civilization.

赫梯文明遭到毁灭性破坏。

Insidiously, smallpox made its way around the world

更严重的是，天花传播到全世界，

via Egyptian merchants,

由埃及的商人，

then through the Arab world with the Crusades,

穿过阿拉伯地区的东征十字军，

and all the way to the Americas

以及通往美洲的沿路

with the Spanish and Portuguese conquests.

随着西班牙和葡萄牙征服者。

Since then, it has killed billions of people

从此开始，天花造成几十亿人死亡

with an estimated 300 to 500 million people

估计有三亿到五亿人

killed in the 20th century alone.

因天花病毒而死，仅仅二十世纪。

But smallpox is not unbeatable.

然而，天花并不是无法医治的。

In fact, the fall of smallpox started

事实上，天花的出现

long before modern medicine.

远远早于现代医学。

It began all the way back in 1022 A.D.

它的出现要追溯到公元1022年

According to a small book, called

根据一本小册子，

"The Correct Treatment of Small Pox,"

称为《天花的正确治疗方法》

a Buddhist nun living in a famous mountain

一位隐居在一座名山的尼姑

删名为峨眉山

named O Mei Shan

in the southern providence of Sichuan

在四川省南部里

would grind up smallpox scabs

将天花所结的痂碾碎

and blow the powder into nostrils of healthy people.

然后将粉末吹入健康人的鼻孔里。

She did this after noticing

她之后发现

that those who managed to survive smallpox

那些幸存于天花病毒的人

never got it again,

不会再被传染，

and her odd treatment worked.

而且她奇特的疗法起了作用。

The procedure, called variolation,

这个过程，称为人痘接种

slowly evolved

慢慢发展演化

and by the 1700's,

并且到1700年代

doctors were taking material from sores

医生们从伤口中提取物质

and putting them into healthy people

然后接种给健康人

through four or five scratches on the arm.

通过在胳膊上划出四到五条划痕。

This worked pretty well

这个方法很有效

as inoculated people would not get reinfected,

被接种的人不会再感染天花，

but it wasn't foolproof.

但这并不是完全安全的。

Up to three percent of people

最多有3%的接种人群

would still die after being exposed to the puss.

在接种后死亡。

It wasn't until English physician Edward Jenner

直到英国医师爱德华 詹纳

noticed something interesting about dairy maids

发现关于奶场女工的有趣事情

that we got our modern solution.

使得我们有了现代的方法。

At age 13, while Jenner was apprentice

在13岁时，詹纳是一位学徒

to a country surgeon and apothecary

一个乡村医生和药房

in Sodbury, near Bristol,

在布里斯托附近的索德伯里 （布里斯托是英国西部的一个港口）

he heard a dairy maid say,

他听到一个奶场女工说，

"I shall never have smallpox, for I have had cowpox.

“得过牛痘之后，就再也感染天花

I shall never have an ugly, pockmarked face."

我永远不会有一张丑陋的麻痘脸。“

Cowpox is a skin disease

牛痘是一种皮肤病

that resembles smallpox and infects cows.

和天花相似 但是感染牛群。

Later on, as a physician,

之后，作为医生

he realized that she was right,

他意识到她是对的

women who got cowpox didn't develop

得过牛痘的女人都没有感染

the deadly smallpox.

致命的天花

Smallpox and cowpox viruses are from the same family.

天花病毒和牛痘病毒属于同样的病毒种类。

But when a virus infects an unfamiliar host,

但当病毒感染一个陌生宿主时，

in this case cowpox infecting a human,

在这种情况下，牛痘感染人类

it is less virulent,

就不会那么致命，

so Jenner decided to test

于是，詹纳决定验证

whether the cowpox virus could be used

牛痘病毒是否能用来

to protect against smallpox.

防治天花。

In May 1796, Jenner found a young dairy maid,

在1796年5月，詹纳找到一位年轻的奶场女工，

Sarah Nelmes,

萨拉 奈尔姆斯，

who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hand and arm

她手和胳膊上有感染牛痘产生的伤疤

caught from the utters of a cow named Blossom.

一种叫开花的牛传染的。

Using matter from her pustules,

用从她的脓包里提取物质，

he inoculated James Phipps,

他接种给力詹姆斯 菲普斯，

the eight-year-old son of his gardener.

他园丁的八岁的儿子。

After a few days of fever and discomfort,

发烧和不适几天后，

the boy seemed to recover.

小男孩康复了。

Two months later, Jenner inoculated the boy again,

两个月后，詹纳再给小男孩接种

this time with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion.

这次是从天花伤口中取出的物质。

No disease developed,

没有任何症状出现，

and Jenner concluded that protection was complete.

于是詹纳认为接种是有效的。

His plan had worked.

他的计划成功了。

Jenner later used the cowpox virus

詹纳之后将牛痘病毒

in several other people

接种在另外几个人

and challenged them repeatedly with smallpox,

之后，又反复感染天花病毒，

proving that they were immune to the disease.

证明了他们对天花已经免疫。

With this procedure,

有了这个方法，

Jenner invented the smallpox vaccination.

詹纳发明了天花疫苗。

Unlike variolation, which used actual smallpox virus

不像人痘接种， 直接使用天花病毒

to try to protect people,

试图来保护人类，

vaccination used the far less dangerous cowpox virus.

疫苗使用了有害性极低的牛痘病毒。

The medical establishment,

这样的医学成就

cautious then as now,

像现在一样，

deliberated at length over his findings

他的发现有很长时间的仔细思考

before accepting them.

被认可以前。

But eventually vaccination was gradually accepted

但是，最终疫苗被渐渐接受

and variolation became prohibited in England in 1840.

并且人痘接种被禁止

1840年在英国

After large vaccination campaigns

大型的疫苗倡议后

throughout the 19th and 20th centuries,

从19和20世纪

the World Health Organization certified

世界健康组织确认了

smallpox's eradication in 1979.

天花疫苗在1979年。

Jenner is forever remembered

詹纳名留青史

as the father of immunology,

作为免疫学之父，

but let's not forget the Buddhist nun,

但是，我们也不要忘了奶厂女工萨拉 奈尔米斯

dairy maid Sarah Nelmes, and James Phipps,

叫开花的牛，

和詹姆斯 菲普斯，

all heroes in this great adventure of vaccination

所有的英雄，在这场疫苗冒险行动中

who helped eradicate smallpox.

帮助消灭天花的人。