Why I study the most dangerous animal on earth -- mosquitoes | Fredros Okumu

翻译人员: WENWEN CHANG 校对人员: Eric Yang

I guess because I'm from Tanzania

我猜，由于我来自坦桑尼亚

I have a responsibility to welcome all of you once again.

我有责任再次欢迎你们

Thank you for coming.

谢谢你们的到来

So, first of all, before we start,

在演讲开始前，首先我想问一下

how many of you in the audience

各位在座的朋友

have been in the past a victim of this bug here?

是否都受过蚊虫叮咬之苦？

We apologize on behalf of all the mosquito catchers.

我代表所有捕蚊者向大家道歉

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们，先生们

imagine getting seven infectious mosquito bites every day.

想象一下，如果每天被 携带传染源的蚊子叮咬7次

That's 2,555 infectious bites every year.

那一年就是2555次。

When I was in college, I moved to the Kilombero River valley

我上大学的时候， 搬到了坐落于坦桑尼亚南部的

in the southeastern part of Tanzania.

基隆贝罗河谷村。

This is historically one of the most malarious zones

在当时，那里是有史以来

in the world at that time.

全世界疟疾的高发区。

Life here was difficult.

那儿的生活很艰辛

In its later stages

在疟疾晚期

malaria manifested with extreme seizures locally known as degedege.

它主要表现为极严重的抽搐， 当地称为“degedege"

It's killed both women and men, adults and children,

无论男女老少

without mercy.

都难以幸免。

My home institution, Ifakara Health Institute,

我家乡的研究机构，‘Ifakara研究所‘

began in this valley in the 1950s

于上世纪50年代在这个村庄成立

to address priority health needs for the local communities.

为当地社区提供重要的健康保障。

In fact, the name Ifakara refers to a place you go to die,

实际上，Ifakara的意思是 人死时会去的地方

which is a reflection of what life used to be here

它反映了没有公共医疗保障之前

in the days before organized public health care.

当地的生活状况。

When I first moved here,

当我第一次搬到这里来的时候

my primary role was to estimate

我主要的工作就是去估计

how much malaria transmission was going on across the villages

在这个村子里有多少疟疾传播的案例

and which mosquitoes were transmitting the disease.

并找出是哪种蚊子在传播疾病。

So my colleague and myself came

为此，我和同事来到

30 kilometers south of Ifakara town across the river.

跨过河30公里以外的ifakara镇以南。

Every evening we went into the villages with flashlights and siphons.

每晚我们都带着手电筒和虹吸管去村子里

We rolled up our trousers,

我们卷起裤管

and waited for mosquitoes that were coming to bite us

等着蚊子来叮咬我们

so we could collect them

因此，我们可以收集它们

to check if they were carrying malaria.

检查它们是否携带疟疾病毒

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My colleague and myself selected a household,

我和同事选了一户人家

and we started inside and outside, swapping positions every half hour.

然后我们开始屋里屋外站岗， 每隔半小时换一班，

And we did this for 12 hours every night for 24 consecutive nights.

每晚值班12个小时，连续干了24个晚上。

We slept for four hours every morning

我们每天早上睡4个小时

and worked the rest of the day,

其余时间都一直工作

sorting mosquitoes, identifying them and chopping off their heads

我们将收集到的蚊子分类，辨认它们 并切下它们的头

so they could be analyzed in the lab

这样它们就可以被送到实验室里去分析了

to check if they were carrying malaria parasites

看它们带血的口器里是否携带

in their blood mouthparts.

疟原虫。

This way we were able to not only know how much malaria was going on here

这样，我们不仅知道有多少例疟疾发生

but also which mosquitoes were carrying this malaria.

也知道是哪种蚊子携带疟疾源

We were also able to know

我们还可以知道

whether malaria was mostly inside houses or outside houses.

疟疾是常在屋内感染还是在屋外

Today, ladies and gentlemen, I still catch mosquitoes for a living.

女士们，先生们，如今我还是靠捕蚊为生

But I do this mostly to improve people's lives and well-being.

但主要是为了延长人们的寿命， 改善他们的生活。

This has been called by some people the most dangerous animal on earth --

有些人说，这是世界上最危险的动物

which unfortunately is true.

不幸的事， 事实确实如此

But what do we really know about mosquitoes?

但是我们又对蚊子了解多少呢？

It turns out we actually know very little.

结果表明，我们对蚊子了解甚微。

Consider the fact that at the moment our best practice against malaria

事实是我们现在对抗蚊子最实际的做法是

are bednets -- insecticide treated bednets.

蚊帐－涂有驱蚊剂的蚊帐

We know now that across Africa

我们得知，在整个非洲

you have widespread resistance to insecticides.

普遍存在杀虫剂抵抗现象

And these are the same insecticides,

蚊帐用的就是这种杀虫剂

the pyrethroid class, that are put on these bednets.

除虫菊素类杀虫剂，它们被用在蚊帐上

We know now that these bednets protect you from bites

我们现在知道，蚊帐能保护我们不受叮咬，

but only minimally kill the mosquitoes that they should.

但是杀蚊效果很差，不尽人意。

What it means is that we've got to do more to be able to get to zero.

这意味着，我们还要采取更多措施 才能把蚊虫消灭干净。

And that's part of our duty.

而这也是我们的职责。

At Ifakara Health Institute

在Ifakara健康研究机构

we focus very much on the biology of the mosquito,

我们主要研究蚊子的生物学特性

and we try to do this so we can identify new opportunities.

以便寻找新的机会

A new approach.

发现新的途径

New ways to try and get new options

新的方法，来寻找其他灭蚊方式

that we can use together with things such as bednets

与蚊帐等传统手段结合

to be able to get to zero.

一同将蚊子消灭干净。

And I'm going to share with you a few examples

我要给你看我和我同事

of the things that my colleagues and myself do.

做的新的东西。

Take this, for example.

比如说这个，

Mosquitoes breed in small pools of water.

蚊子在小水洼里繁殖

Not all of them are easy to find --

并不是所有的蚊子都容易发现

they can be scattered across villages,

有的散布在村子各处

they can be as small as hoofprints.

有的像蹄印一样小

They can be behind your house or far from your house.

有的就在你家后院， 有的却离你房子很远。

And so, if you wanted to control mosquito larvae,

因此要想控制住蚊子卵

it can actually be quite difficult to get them.

也是很困难的。

What my colleagues and I have decided to do

我和我的同事决定要做的是

is to think about what if we used mosquitoes themselves

想让蚊子自己

to carry the insecticides from a place of our choice

将杀蚊剂从我们指定的地点带到

to their own breeding habitats

它们繁殖的栖息地

so that whichever eggs they lay there shall not survive.

消灭那个地方所有的蚊卵。

This is Dickson Lwetoijera.

这是狄更斯·维托杰亚

This is my colleague who runs this show at Ifakara.

我的同事，在Ifakara展示这一试验

And he has demonstrated cleverly that you can actually get mosquitoes

他聪明的验证了可以让蚊子

to come to the place where they normally come to get blood

从它常去采血的地方

to pick up a dose of sterilants or insecticide,

采到带有杀菌剂或者杀虫剂的血液

carry this back to their own breeding habitat

然后把它们带到它们的繁殖地

and kill all their progeny.

杀掉它们所有的虫卵。

And we have demonstrated that you can do this

并且， 我们可以证实你可以做到

and crush populations very, very rapidly.

并很快的减少蚊子的数量

This is beautiful.

这太美了。

This is our mosquito city.

这是我们的蚊子城市。

It is the largest mosquito farm

这是全世界最大的蚊子养殖基地

available in the world for malaria research.

用于支持对疟疾的研究。

Here we have large-scale self-sustaining colonies of malaria mosquitoes

在这个基地里，我们养了一大批

that we rear in these facilities.

自给自足的疟疾蚊子群体。

Of course, they are disease-free.

当然，它们是不携带任何疾病的

But what these systems allow us to do

这些系统使我们可以

is to introduce new tools and test them immediately,

引进新技术并立即投入试验

very quickly,

非常快

and see if we can crush these populations or control them in some way.

并看看我们是否能消灭蚊子种群 或者设法控制它们

And my colleagues have demonstrated

我的同事也证明了

that if you just put two or three positions

只需在两三个地方投放致命物质

where mosquitoes can go pick up these lethal substances,

让蚊子去采集，

we can crush these colonies in just three months.

我们就可以将蚊群 在三个月内消灭干净。

That's autodissemination, as we call it.

我们称它为：自动化播散

But what if we could use

但是我们是否可以利用

the mosquitoes' sexual behavior

蚊子的性行为

to also control them?

来控制它们？

So, first of all I would like to tell you

首先，我想跟你们说的是

that actually mosquitoes mate in what we call swarms.

蚊子其实是聚众交配的，

Male mosquitoes usually congregate

公蚊子通常成群结队的

in clusters around the horizon, usually after sunset.

聚集在地表面，太阳落山后

The males go there for a dance,

公蚊子去那里跳舞

the females fly into that dance

母蚊子也过去跳舞，

and select a male mosquito of their choice,

并挑选一个她们看上的公蚊子，

usually the best-looking male in their view.

——通常是那个看起来最英俊的。

They clump together and fall down onto the floor.

它们聚集在一起，然后落到地上

If you watch this, it's beautiful.

你要看到这景象，你也会认为很美。

It's a fantastic phenomenon.

这真是一个太棒的现象了

This is where our mosquito-catching work gets really interesting.

这就是我们捕蚊工作的好玩之处

What we have seen, when we go swarm hunting in the villages,

当我们到村里的沼泽去捕蚊子的时候会发现，

is that these swarm locations tend to be at exactly the same location

这些沼泽地总是固定不动的

every day, every week, every month,

每天，每周，每个月

year in, year out.

年复一年。

They start at exactly the same time of the evening,

它们每晚都在相同的时间开始交配，

and they are at exactly the same locations.

它们也去相同的地点。

What does this tell us?

这给我们有什么启发呢？

It means that if we can map all these locations across villages,

这就意味着，如果我们 可以在村子里找到这些地点

we could actually

我们就能

crush these populations by just a single blow.

把这些蚊子一网打尽。

Kind of, you know, bomb-spray them or nuke them out.

就像，用炸弹覆盖或者核武器一样消灭它们

And that is what we try to do with young men and women

那就是我们和青年男女

across the villages.

在村子里尝试做的事

We organize these crews, teach them how to identify the swarms,

我们把这帮人组织起来， 教他们如何去辨认蚊群

and spray them out.

并喷洒药物杀死它们。

My colleagues and I believe we have a new window

我和我的同事相信 我们有新的机会

to get mosquitoes out of the valley.

将蚊子赶出村子。

But perhaps the fact that mosquitoes eat blood, human blood,

但是事实是，这些蚊子吸血，吸人类的血

is the reason they are the most dangerous animal on earth.

这就是为什么他们是世上最危险的动物

But think about it this way --

但是，请这样想－

mosquitoes actually smell you.

蚊子实际上是闻到了你的气味

And they have developed

而它们进化出了

incredible sensory organs.

不可思议的感觉器官

They can smell from as far sometimes as 100 meters away.

它们可以闻到100米开外的气味

And when they get closer,

它们离你很近的时候

they can even tell the difference between two family members.

连一家的两个不同成员都能区分出来。

They know who you are based on what you produce

它们通过你呼出的气体，

from your breath, skin, sweat and body odor.

皮肤分泌物，汗液，体味 就能知道你是谁。

What we have done at Ifakara

我们在Ifakara做的是

is to identify what it is in your skin, your body, your sweat or your breath

去鉴别来自你皮肤，你身体， 汗液和呼吸中

that these mosquitoes like.

那些蚊子喜欢的东西。

Once we identified these substances, we created a concoction,

一旦我们找到这种物质， 我们就可以做一种混合剂

kind of a mixture, a blend of synthetic substances

一种合成物质

that are reminiscent of what you produce from your body.

接近人类的体味。

And we made a synthetic blend

我们做了一个合成的混合物

that was attracting three to five times more mosquitoes than a human being.

它吸引蚊子数量是人类能够吸引的3-5倍。

What can you do with this?

你可以用这个做什么？

You put in a trap, lure a lot of mosquitoes and you kill them, right?

你埋下陷阱，吸引大批的蚊子， 然后再杀死它们，对吧？

And of course, you can also use it for surveillance.

当然，它还可以起到监视作用

At Ifakara

在Ifakara

we wish to expand our knowledge on the biology of the mosquito;

我们希望可以拓展 我们在蚊子的生物学方面的知识

to control many other diseases, including, of course, the malaria,

去控制其它的疾病，当然包括疟疾在内

but also those other diseases that mosquitoes transmit

还有通过蚊子传播的其他疾病

like dengue, Chikungunya and Zika virus.

诸如登革热，奇昆古尼亚热病和寨卡病毒。

And this is why my colleagues, for example --

这也是为什么我的同事，比方说

we have looked at the fact

我们发现

that some mosquitoes like to bite you on the leg region.

某些蚊子喜欢 叮你的大腿。

And we've now created these mosquito repellent sandals

我们为此也发明了驱蚊凉鞋

that tourists and locals can wear when they're coming.

保护游人和当地人

And you don't get bitten --

免遭蚊虫叮咬

this gives you 'round the clock protection

因为这会给你随时随地的保护

until the time you go under your bednet.

直到你回到你的蚊帐里去

(Applause)

（掌声）

My love-hate relationship with mosquitoes continues.

我与蚊子的爱恨情仇还在继续

(Laughter)

（观众笑声）

And it's going to go a long way, I can see.

我也知道灭蚊之路仍然任重道远。

But that's OK.

但是，这也不错。

WHO has set a goal of 2030 to eliminate malaria from 35 countries.

世卫组织定了一个目标， 在2030年消灭35个国家的疟疾。

The African Union has set a goal

非洲联合国家也定了个目标

of 2030 to eliminate malaria from the continent.

在2030年将消灭非洲大陆的疟疾。

At Ifakara we are firmly behind these goals.

在Ifakara, 我们紧随目标

And we've put together a cohort of young scientists,

我们集合了一大批青年科学家

male and female,

男女都有

who are champions,

他们是胜利者

who are interested in coming together to make this vision come true.

愿意聚集在一起实现目标。

They do what they can

他们尽其所能

to make it work.

去实现目标。

And we are supporting them.

而我们在支持他们。

We are here to make sure that these dreams come true.

我们来到这就是为了 使这个梦想成真。

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们，先生们

even if it doesn't happen in our lifetime,

即便这一梦想没有

在我们有生之年起作用

even if it doesn't happen

before you and me go away,

I believe that your child and my child

我相信你的孩子，我的孩子、

shall inherit a world free of malaria transmitting mosquitoes

也会享受一个没有传播疟疾的蚊子

and free of malaria.

也没有疟疾的世界。

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

女士们，先生们。非常感谢。

（掌声）

(Applause)

Thank you.

谢谢

Kelo Kubu: OK, Fredros.

凯勒·库巴： 好的， 费兰德

Let's talk about CRISPR for a bit.

我们来聊点儿CRISPR吧

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's taken the world by storm,

这让整个世界很是震撼

it promises to do amazing things.

它预示着能够做很多不可思议的事情

What do you think of scientists using CRISPR to kill off mosquitoes?

你怎么看科学家用CRISPR消灭蚊子

Fredros Okumu: To answer this question, let's start from what the problem is.

费兰德：要回答这个问题， 我们就得先说一下问题的实质

First of all, we're talking about a disease that still kills --

首先，我们讲的是一个可以致人死亡的疾病

according to the latest figures we have from WHO --

据世贸卫生组织最新数字表明

429,000 people.

已有429,000人因此而死亡

Most of these are African children.

多数是非洲儿童

Of course, we've made progress,

当然，我们还是有成效的

there are countries that have achieved

有些国家已经

up to 50-60 percent reduction in malaria burden.

减少了50-60%的疟疾死亡率

But we still have to do more to get to zero.

但是要达到零死亡，还需要时间

There is already proof of principle

已经有证据表明

that gene-editing techniques, such as CRISPR,

基因编辑技术，比如CRISPR

can be used effectively

可以有效的用来

to transform mosquitoes so that either they do not transmit malaria --

改造蚊子，是他们不再传播疟疾

we call this population alteration --

我们称它为人口替换

or that they no longer exist,

抑或是他们根本就不复存在了

population suppression.

蚊子数量骤减

This is already proven in the lab.

这些已经通过实验证实了

There is also modeling work

有一个样板课题

that has demonstrated that even if you were to release

已经证明了即使你去释放

just a small number of these genetically modified mosquitoes,

少量这种经基因改造后的蚊子

that you can actually achieve elimination very, very quickly.

就可以让你快速将蚊子消灭光。

So, CRISPR and tools like this offer us some real opportunities --

因此，CRISPR和类似的工具 提供给我们真正的机会－

real-life opportunities to have high-impact interventions

存在于现实生活中的高效能干扰机会

that we can use in addition to what we have now

可以供我们使用来增强 我们现在所有的

to eventually go to zero.

直到最后直到完全消灭

This is important.

这很重要

Now, of course people always ask us --

现在，当然很多人都在问我们

which is a common question,

这也是一个很普遍的问题

I guess you're going to ask this as well --

我猜想你也会这样问

"What happens if you eliminate mosquitoes?"

“你们把所有的蚊子都消灭了又怎样？”

KK: I won't ask then, you answer.

凯：那我就不问了，你回答吧

FO: OK. In respect to this, I would just like to remind my colleagues

费兰德：好的，鉴于这问题， 我需要提醒我的同事

that we have 3,500 mosquito species in this world.

告诉他们，在这世上有3500种蚊子

Maybe more than that.

或许比这还多。

About 400 of these are Anophelenes,

这其中400种是按蚊

and only about 70 of them have any capacity to transmit malaria.

它们当中的70是有能力传播疟疾的。

In Africa, we're having to deal with three or four of these as the major guys.

在非洲我们要去处理大概3到4个这种大家伙

They carry most -- like 99 percent of all the malaria we have.

它们能够携带我们所拥有的99%的疟疾。

If we were to go out with gene editing like CRISPR,

如果我们要利用像CRISPR基因改造系统，

if we were to go out with gene drives to control malaria,

如果我们要利用基因去控制疟疾，

we would be going after only one or two.

我们就只需要控制一两种

I don't see a diversity problem with that.

我不认为这有什么多元化的问题。

But that's personal view.

但是那仅是我的观点

I think it's OK.

我认为这很好

And remember, by the way,

要记住，还有，

all these years we've been trying to eliminate these mosquitoes effectively

在这些年来我们一直在尝试去有效率的

by spraying them -- our colleagues in America have sprayed with --

通过喷雾来消灭它们－我在美国的同事

用炸弹喷雾工具来消灭将整个村子里的虫子

really bomb-spraying these insects out of the villages.

In Africa we do a lot of household spraying.

在非洲，我们用了很多家用喷蚊子的方法

All these are aimed solely at killing the mosquitoes.

所有这些都仅仅只能够杀灭蚊子

So there's really no problem if we had a new tool.

因此我们再发明个新工具也是没问题的

But having said that, I have to say

虽然我那样说，但是我还是不得不说

we also have to be very, very responsible here.

我也该越来越负责的说

So there's the regulatory side, and we have to partner with our regulators

但是，我们也有监管的， 我们要与我们的监管人合作

and make sure that everything that we do is done correctly,

要确保我们做的所有事都正确，

is done responsibly

都做的很负责任

and that we also have to do independent risk assessments,

我们还要去做独立的风险测定

to just make sure

仅仅为了确保

that all these processes do not fall into the wrong hands.

整个过程万无一失。

Thank you very much.

十分感谢

KK: Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）