How we conquered the deadly smallpox virus - Simona Zompi

我們如何戰勝致命的天花病毒 - 莎蒙娜．洛普 (Simona Zompi)

譯者: Shelly Wang 審譯者: Hao-Wei Chang

10,000 years ago,

一萬年前

a deadly virus arose in northeastern Africa.

東北非出現了一種的致命病毒

The virus spread through the air,

此病毒藉由空氣傳播

attacking the skin cells,

攻擊皮膚細胞

bone marrow,

骨髓

spleen,

脾臟

and lymph nodes of its victims.

以及淋巴結

The unlucky infected developed fevers,

不幸感染的人會發燒

vomiting,

嘔吐

and rashes.

起疹子

30% of infected people died

30% 的患者

during the second week of infection.

在感染後第二個禮拜死亡

Survivors bore scars and scabs

倖存下來的人也會留下

for the rest of their lives.

永久性的傷疤與結痂

Smallpox had arrived.

這個病毒就是天花

In 1350 B.C., the first smallpox epidemics

天花第一次爆發是在西元前 1350 年

hit during the Egypt-Hittite war.

埃及與西臺的戰爭期間

Egyptian prisoners spread smallpox

埃及的囚犯把天花

to the Hittites,

傳染給西臺人

which killed their king

甚至導致西臺國王的死亡

and devastated his civilization.

並摧毀了西臺文明

Insidiously, smallpox made its way around the world

不知不覺地，天花遍佈全世界

via Egyptian merchants,

由埃及商人

then through the Arab world with the Crusades,

經由征戰傳播到阿拉伯世界

and all the way to the Americas

後來因西班牙與葡萄牙的入侵

with the Spanish and Portuguese conquests.

而傳到美洲

Since then, it has killed billions of people

從那時開始，天花導致數十億人的死亡

with an estimated 300 to 500 million people

光是在二十世紀

killed in the 20th century alone.

就造成約三至五億人口死亡

But smallpox is not unbeatable.

但天花並非無藥可解

In fact, the fall of smallpox started

事實上，天花早在現代醫學開始前

long before modern medicine.

就已經逐漸減少

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

從西元 1022 年開始

According to a small book, called

一本名為

"The Correct Treatment of Small Pox,"

《治療天花正確療法》的書

a Buddhist nun living in a famous mountain

記載著一名住在四川南部

named O Mei Shan

峨眉山上

in the southern providence of Sichuan

的尼姑

would grind up smallpox scabs

將天花所造成的疙瘩磨碎

and blow the powder into nostrils of healthy people.

並將疙瘩粉吹入健康者的鼻孔裡

She did this after noticing

她這麼做是因為注意到

that those who managed to survive smallpox

那些從天花中倖存下來的人

never got it again,

從此不再感染

and her odd treatment worked.

她特殊的療法離奇的有效

The procedure, called variolation,

這個被稱為「天花接種」的療法

slowly evolved

慢慢演化

and by the 1700's,

到了十八世紀

doctors were taking material from sores

醫生從病人的瘡疤中擷取部分

and putting them into healthy people

在健康者的手臂刮四到五次後

through four or five scratches on the arm.

並將擷取物置入其中

This worked pretty well

這個方法相當有效

as inoculated people would not get reinfected,

接種過的人們從此不再被感染

but it wasn't foolproof.

但這方法並非全然無虞

Up to three percent of people

仍有 3% 的人

would still die after being exposed to the puss.

接種後仍會死亡

It wasn't until English physician Edward Jenner

直到有位叫愛德華．琴納的英國醫師

noticed something interesting about dairy maids

察覺到發生在牧場少女身上的有趣現象

that we got our modern solution.

現代醫學的解法才出現

At age 13, while Jenner was apprentice

在琴納十三歲時

to a country surgeon and apothecary

還是一名外科醫師兼藥劑詩的學徒

in Sodbury, near Bristol,

他在布里斯托附近的薩德貝禮

he heard a dairy maid say,

聽到一名牧場少女說

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

因為我得過牛痘，所以不會得天花

I shall never have an ugly, pockmarked face."

我不會有那滿臉痘痕的醜臉

Cowpox is a skin disease

牛痘是一種

that resembles smallpox and infects cows.

和天花很像 但感染在牛身上的皮膚病

Later on, as a physician,

不久後，身為醫生的他

he realized that she was right,

發現這個女孩所說是正確的

women who got cowpox didn't develop

感染過牛痘的女性都沒有

the deadly smallpox.

發展出致命的天花

Smallpox and cowpox viruses are from the same family.

天花與牛痘是同源的

But when a virus infects an unfamiliar host,

但感染的宿主不同

in this case cowpox infecting a human,

牛痘感染在人身上

it is less virulent,

毒性較弱

so Jenner decided to test

因此琴納決定來做個實驗

whether the cowpox virus could be used

看看牛痘是否能用來

to protect against smallpox.

對抗天花病毒

In May 1796, Jenner found a young dairy maid,

1796 年 5 月，琴納發現

Sarah Nelmes,

一名叫莎拉．芮姆的農家女孩

who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hand and arm

從一頭叫布洛森的牛身上

caught from the utters of a cow named Blossom.

感染到牛痘病毒

Using matter from her pustules,

他用莎拉膿包裡的萃取物

he inoculated James Phipps,

將之接種到

the eight-year-old son of his gardener.

他園丁的八歲兒子詹姆士．菲普身上

After a few days of fever and discomfort,

經過幾天的發燒與不適

the boy seemed to recover.

這個小男孩漸漸康復了

Two months later, Jenner inoculated the boy again,

兩個月後，琴納接種天花病毒的

this time with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion.

膿包萃取物到這小男孩身上

No disease developed,

沒有引發疾病

and Jenner concluded that protection was complete.

琴納因此斷定這個方式是有效的

His plan had worked.

他的計畫成功了

Jenner later used the cowpox virus

琴納接著用牛痘病毒

in several other people

接種到其他人身上

and challenged them repeatedly with smallpox,

並以天花病毒不斷試驗

proving that they were immune to the disease.

證明接種牛痘後

With this procedure,

這些人將對天花病毒免疫

Jenner invented the smallpox vaccination.

琴納發明了《牛痘疫苗接種》

Unlike variolation, which used actual smallpox virus

不像天花疫苗接種，使用天花的病毒

to try to protect people,

來保護人們

vaccination used the far less dangerous cowpox virus.

牛痘接種是用毒性較弱的牛痘病毒

The medical establishment,

這項醫學創舉

cautious then as now,

的嚴謹度不輸現代科學

deliberated at length over his findings

經過了一段長時間

before accepting them.

才有人漸漸接受它

But eventually vaccination was gradually accepted

但到最後還是被眾人肯定

and variolation became prohibited in England in 1840.

而英國也在 1840 年

禁止天花接種

After large vaccination campaigns

自 19 到 20 世紀

throughout the 19th and 20th centuries,

長時間的努力

the World Health Organization certified

世界衛生組織確認

smallpox's eradication in 1979.

天花在 1979 年被根除

Jenner is forever remembered

琴納也因此被稱為免疫學之父

as the father of immunology,

永留青史

but let's not forget the Buddhist nun,

但我們也別忘了 農家女孩莎拉．芮姆

dairy maid Sarah Nelmes, and James Phipps,

那頭叫布洛森的牛

還有詹姆士．菲普

all heroes in this great adventure of vaccination

而這些無名英雄

who helped eradicate smallpox.

都是根除天花病毒的大功臣