數百人死於埃博拉病毒 西非疫情規模空前

ABUJA, Nigeria — As the death toll mounted from the worst outbreak of the Ebola virus, West African leaders quickened the pace of emergency efforts Thursday, authorizing house-to-house searches for infected people and deploying the army to combat the disease.

尼日利亞阿布賈——隨着這次最嚴重的埃博拉病毒爆發造成的死亡人數的上升，西非地區多國領導人週四加快了應急行動的步伐，授權挨門挨戶尋找感染者，並部署軍隊抗擊該疾病。

International efforts to contain the virus also gained momentum and urgency. The World Health Organization announced a $100 million plan Thursday to get more medical experts and supplies to the overwhelmed region, as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States committed the agency to sending 50 more experts there in coming weeks.

國際社會控制埃博拉病毒的努力也逐步加強，並且變得更爲緊迫。世界衛生組織(World Health Organization)於週四宣佈了一項1億美元（約合6.2億元人民幣）的計劃，讓更多的醫療專家和醫療用品進入病毒肆虐的西非地區。與此同時，美國疾病預防與控制中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，簡稱CDC）的主任也承諾，在未來幾周內再派50名專家前往當地。

First recognized in March in Guinea, the Ebola outbreak has surged through porous borders to invade neighboring countries in an unprecedented way, quickly outstripping fragile health systems and forcing health officials to fight the battle on many fronts. Past outbreaks have been more localized, but the current one has spread extensively over a vast region.

今年3月，首先在幾內亞發現了埃博拉病毒的這一輪爆發的跡象。現在，疫情已經以一種前所未有的方式越過疏於防範的邊境，攻入鄰國，很快便讓脆弱的衛生系統不堪重負，迫使衛生官員多線作戰。以往的爆發更多地出現在局部地區，但當下這一輪疫情已在一片幅員遼闊的地區廣泛擴散。

The stepped-up effort is long overdue, according to some analysts. They say the initial response was inadequate on both the national and international level and allowed the disease to mushroom from a local outbreak to an international threat.

一些分析人士認爲，早就應該加強行動了。他們表示，國家內部和國際社會最初均應對不力，導致疾病從局部爆發迅速演變成了國際威脅。

The viral illness has extracted a terrible toll, killing 729 people, including top physicians in Liberia and Sierra Leone, nations that already face an acute shortage of doctors. The outbreak has also sickened two U.S. aid workers, who were being rushed back to the United States for treatment.

這一病毒性疾病已經造成了慘重損失，導致729人死亡，其中包括利比里亞和塞拉利昂的頂尖內科醫生。這兩個國家本來就面臨着嚴重的醫生短缺。本輪爆發還導致兩名美國援助人員患病。美國正在努力將二人儘快送回國內接受治療。

“The whole thing has been very incompetently handled,” said Lansana Gberie, a historian from Sierra Leone. “If the government had quarantined this area” where the outbreak started, in the remote northeast, “they could have contained it. Instead they opened a treatment center in Kenema, a major population center.”

“對整件事情的應對都非常不力，”來自塞拉利昂的歷史學者蘭薩納·格貝里(Lansana Gberie)說。“如果政府起先對這片地區進行隔離，他們可能已經控制住了。相反，他們在人口密集的大城市凱內馬開設了一家治療中心。”他指的地區是疫情開始爆發的地方，位於該國偏遠的東北部。

On PoliticoSL, a widely followed website in Sierra Leone, journalist Umaru Fofana has written recently that “the country seems leaderless in the fight.” Now that cases have spread so widely, controlling the outbreak will be more costly and difficult.

在塞拉利昂關注者甚衆的網站PoliticoSL上，記者奧馬魯·福法納(Umaru Fofana)最近寫道，“在這場戰鬥中，國家似乎羣龍無首。”鑑於感染病例的擴散已如此之廣，控制疫情將變得更加困難，代價也將更高。

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the CDC, warned on Thursday that the worsening outbreak could take at least three to six months to bring under control, “even in a best-case scenario.” Hostility and violence directed at health workers are making the job harder, he said.

CDC主任托馬斯·R·弗裏登博士(Thomas R. Frieden)週四警告，“即便是在最樂觀的情況下”，也需要至少三至六個月時間才能將日漸惡化的疫情控制住。他說，針對醫務人員的敵意和暴力行爲加大了這項工作的難度。

The CDC advised Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to the three countries hardest hit by the virus: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The agency issued a “Level 3” travel warning, reserved for grave situations. It was also used for the outbreak of the highly contagious respiratory disease SARS.

CDC建議美國人，如無絕對必要，避免前往受病毒打擊最嚴重的三個國家：幾內亞、塞拉利昂和利比里亞。CDC發佈了“3級”旅行預警，用以表示形勢極爲嚴峻。在傳染性很強的呼吸道疾病SARS爆發時，也曾用到“3級”預警。

Frieden said that a major concern is that travelers who become ill or injured and need medical care may risk being exposed to Ebola at hospitals in the region. When infection-control measures are poor, hospitals become “amplification points,” spreading the disease they are supposed to contain, he said.

弗裏登稱，一大隱患是，生病或受傷的旅行者會因爲需要醫療救治而在當地醫院接觸到埃博拉病毒。他說，當傳染控制措施比較薄弱時，醫院就會成爲“擴散點”，傳播它們本應控制的疾病。

The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said Thursday that the United States was considering a medical evacuation to bring home U.S. aid workers diagnosed with Ebola. Two, infected in Liberia, were in grave condition, according to a statement on the website of a charitable organization, Samaritan's Purse.

白宮新聞發言人喬希·歐內斯特(Josh Earnest)週四表示，美國正在考慮醫療疏散，將確認感染埃博拉病毒的美國救援工作者接回國。慈善組織撒瑪利亞救援會(Samaritan's Purse)在其網站上發表聲明稱，在利比里亞受到感染的兩人病情危險。

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta issued a statement on Thursday saying it had been told of plans to transfer a patient with Ebola to its special containment unit, set up in collaboration with the CDC, in the next several days. Because of privacy laws, the hospital declined to name the patient.

亞特蘭大艾默裏大學醫院(Emory University Hospital)週四發表聲明稱，已接到通知，旗下的疾病特控部門將在未來幾天內收治一名感染埃博拉病毒的患者。這一部門由CDC與該醫院合作成立。因爲考慮到隱私法規，醫院拒絕透露患者姓名。

WHO said the tally of deaths from Ebola rose after 56 more people died during a four-day period between July 24 and 27 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria had one fatality. In the same period, 122 new cases were detected, bringing the total of confirmed and suspected cases to 1,323.

世衛組織表示，在幾內亞、利比里亞和塞拉利昂，從7月24日到27日的四天時間內，共有56人身亡，進一步增加了死於埃博拉病毒的人數。尼日利亞有一人死亡。在同一時期內，發現了122個新病例，使得確認和疑似病例總數上升到了1323例。

The virus causes high fever, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, bleeding. In the current outbreak, about 60 percent of the cases have been fatal. It is transmitted by contact with bodily fluids from someone who is ill.

這種病毒會引發高燒、嘔吐、腹瀉，有時還會造成出血。在本輪疫情中，大約60%的病例死亡。它通過接觸患者的體液來傳播。

There is no vaccine to prevent the illness, and no specific treatment for it, only care to try to nurse people through the worst of the fevers, bleeding and other symptoms. The only way to stop an outbreak is to isolate each infected patient, trace all their contacts, isolate the ones who get sick and repeat the process until, finally, there are no more cases.

目前尚無任何疫苗可以預防這種疾病，也沒有專門的治療方法，只能照顧患者，嘗試讓其熬過發熱和出血等症狀最兇猛的階段。唯一能阻止疫情傳播的方法就是隔離每位受感染的病人，找到每個曾與他們接觸的人，隔離其中的患者，然後重複這一過程，直到沒有任何新病例爲止。

President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone declared a public health emergency. He said security forces would be deployed to support health professionals, and that “all epicenters of the disease will be quarantined” along with “localities and homes where the disease is identified.” The measures would be enforced for 60 to 90 days.

塞拉利昂總統歐內斯特·巴伊·科羅馬(Ernest Bai Koroma)宣佈全國進入公共衛生緊急狀態。他表示，將部署安全部隊前去支持專業醫護人員，“對所有發病中心”以及“發現患者的地點和家庭採取隔離措施”。這些措施的實施時長將爲60至90天。