What we know (and don't know) about Ebola - Alex Gendler

Translator: Yin Yu Wong Reviewer: Xi He

In the summer of 1976,

喺1976年夏天，

一個流行病突擊咗 兩個中非嘅小村莊，

a mysterious epidemic suddenly struck two central African towns,

killing the majority of its victims.

導致大部分病者死亡。

Medical researchers suspected

醫療研究專家推測

the deadly Marburg virus to be the culprit.

兇手就係馬爾堡病毒。

But what they saw in microscope images was an entirely new pathogen,

但係，佢哋喺顯微鏡度睇到嘅，

which would be named after the nearby Ebola river.

係一個將以伊波拉河命名嘅 全新病原體。

好似黃熱病同登革熱，

Like yellow fever or dengue,

伊波拉病毒導致 一種嚴重嘅出血熱

the disease caused by the Ebola virus is a severe type of hemorrhagic fever.

It begins by attacking the immune system's cells

佢會攻擊免疫系統嘅細胞，

and neutralizing its responses,

同中和佢哋嘅反應，

導致病毒數量快速咁增長。

allowing the virus to proliferate.

Starting anywhere from two to twenty days after contraction,

感染後嘅 2 到 20 天，

initial symptoms like high temperature,

起初嘅徵狀有發燒，

aching,

酸痛

and sore throat

同喉嚨痛，

resemble those of a typical flu,

好似普通感冒，

但係，仲會好快有嘔吐，

but quickly escalate to vomiting,

rashes,

皮疹，

and diarrhea.

同屙肚。

And as the virus spreads,

病毒繼續喺體內蔓延，

it invades the lymph nodes and vital organs,

會入侵淋巴腺同重要嘅器官，

such as kidneys and liver, causing them to lose function.

譬如腎臟同肝，仲令到佢哋失去功能。

但係， 病毒本身唔會殺死患者，

But the virus itself is not what kills Ebola victims.

Instead, the mounting cell deaths trigger an immune system overload,

佢就不斷咁使細胞死亡， 導致免疫系統超負荷，

known as a cytokine storm,

即係細胞因子風暴，

免疫反應嘅爆發，導致血管損傷，

an explosion of immune responses that damages blood vessels,

causing both internal and external bleeding.

內出血同外出血。

咁樣，體內嘅液體會流失，

The excessive fluid loss and resulting complications

can be fatal within six to sixteen days of the first symptoms,

喺最初症狀後嘅 6 至 16天會危及生命。

though proper care and rehydration therapy

適當嘅護理同補水治療

會大大咁減少死亡率。

can significantly reduce mortality rates in patients.

好彩，雖然伊波拉病毒傳播性高，

Fortunately, while Ebola is highly virulent,

several factors limit its contagiousness.

有幾個因素限制佢嘅感染力。

Unlike viruses that proliferate through small, airborne particles,

相比其他透過空氣傳播嘅病毒，

Ebola only exists in bodily fluids,

伊波拉病毒只喺 體內嘅液體裏邊生存。

such as saliva,

譬如口水，

blood,

血液，黏液，嘔吐物，或排泄物。

mucus,

vomit,

or feces.

In order to spread,

佢喺感染咗嘅患者度，

通過眼睛，嘴，鼻哥嘅接觸

these must be transmitted from an infected person into another's body

through passageways such as the eyes, mouth, or nose.

先會傳播。

由於佢嘅嚴重性

And because the disease's severity

increases directly along with the viral load,

同佢嘅載量成正比，

啲患者有症狀之前

even an infected person is unlikely to be contagious

until they have begun to show symptoms.

多數唔會感染其他人。

While Ebola has been shown to survive on surfaces for several hours,

雖然伊波拉病毒可以喺啲嘢嘅 表面上生存多個小時，

and transmission through sneezing or coughing is theoretically possible,

同喺理論上，可以通過打乞嗤傳染，

virtually all known cases of contraction have been through direct contact

至今所有已知嘅感染案例，都係通過

with the severely ill,

同嚴重感染患者嘅接觸。

with the greatest risk posed to medical workers

所以，醫護人員有最大嘅感染風險，

and friends or relatives of the victims.

其次係患者嘅家人同朋友。

所以，雖然伊波拉有很嚴重嘅病癥，

This is why, despite its horrifying effects,

Ebola has been far less deadly overall than more common infections,

其他病毒，

譬如麻疹，虐疾，甚至流行感冒，

such as measles,

malaria,

嘅死亡率都高過佢。

or even influenza.

Once an outbreak has been contained,

喺疫情受控時，

the virus does not exist in the human population

病毒就唔喺社會上存在，

until the next outbreak begins.

除非疫情再次爆發。

But while this is undoubtedly a good thing,

雖然咁樣幾好，

it also makes Ebola difficult to study.

但係就好難研究伊波拉病毒。

Scientists believe fruit bats to be its natural carriers,

科學界普遍認為， 果蝠帶有呢種病毒，

but just how it is transmitted to humans remains unknown.

但是佢點傳播到人，就仲係唔知。

Furthermore, many of the countries where Ebola outbreaks occur

仲有，伊波拉病毒喺 好多基础設施薄弱，

suffer from poor infrastructure and sanitation,

which enables the disease to spread.

令到佢有很高嘅傳播性。

And the poverty of these regions,

呢啲地區嘅貧窮

同小數嘅病例

combined with the relatively low amount of overall cases

means there is little economic incentive for drug companies to invest in research.

令到藥物研發公司 喺呢方面嘅投資好少。

Though some experimental medicines have shown promise,

雖然研究藥物對病毒嘅 傳播性有啲進展，

and governments are funding development of a vaccine,

而且多個政府亦係度 發展伊波拉病毒疫苗，

as of 2014,

但係，截至 2014，

the only widespread and effective solutions to an Ebola outbreak remain

控制伊波拉病毒傳播嘅

最有效方法就係，隔離，

isolation,

sanitation,

良好嘅公共衛生，

and information.

同信息分享。