H7N9始末:危言不該聳聽 流感需冷靜預防

A deadly strain of bird flu previously unknown in people has begun to mutate into a form more likely to cause a human pandemic, scientists say.

科學家聲稱，一種未知的，可致命的禽流感病毒已開始發生突變，很可能導致人羣之間的流行傳染。

Just days after authorities in China announced they had identified cases of H7N9, flu experts in laboratories across the world are picking through the DNA sequence data of samples isolated from patients to assess its severity.

就在中國宣稱已證實H7N9病例幾天之後，全世界的流感專家就開始蒐集樣本中的DNA序列數據，這些樣本是從病人身上分離而出，試驗的目的是評估該種病毒的嚴重性。

One of the world’s top flu experts, Ab Osterhaus, from the Erasmus Medical Centre in The Netherlands, says the sequences show some genetic mutations that should put authorities on alert and entail increased surveillance in animals and humans.

世界頂尖的流感專家之一，來自荷蘭伊拉茲馬斯醫學中心的阿布·沃斯特沃斯聲稱，DNA序列顯明，專家應該對某些基因突變提高警惕，而且必須加強對動物與人體的有關監控。該項病毒的感染範圍已擴大至哺乳動物和人類，這也是令人煩惱不已的地方。我們必須對此保持緊密關注。

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed that three people had been infected with the new H7N9 flu, with two deaths of men in Shanghai aged 87 and 27 who fell sick in late February.

中國國家健康與家庭規劃委員會已證實，已有三個人感染新型H7N9流感，其中來自上海的兩名患者已死亡，年齡分別是87和27歲，均是在二月底發病。

Chinese authorities have in the past two days confirmed another six cases, including another fatal one.

中國有關部門又在過去兩天中證實另外六起病例，其中一名生命垂危。

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the cases of H7N9 are 'of concern' because they are the first in humans.

世界衛生組織（WHO）宣稱，以上的H7N9病例具有極其重要的意義，因其是在人類中發現的首批病例。

'That makes it a unique event, which the World Health Organization is taking seriously,' the Geneva-based United Nations health agency said today.

位於幾內瓦的聯合國衛生代表處在今天發表聲明，這是一個特殊的事件，世界衛生組織對此表示極爲重視。

Other strains of bird flu, such as H5N1, have been circulating for many years and can be transmitted from bird to bird, and bird to human, but not from human to human.

其它的禽流感病毒株，比如H5N1，已經出現多年，可以在禽類之間傳播，禽類和人類之間傳播，但並不會在人羣之間傳播。

So far, this lack of human-to-human transmission also appears to be a feature of the H7N9 strain.

目前爲止，H7N9病毒株還未表現出可以在人羣之間傳播的特徵。

Flu viruses are classified based on two types of protein found on their surface, haemagglutinin and neuraminidase, which are abbreviated to H and N.

流感病毒的分類依據是病毒株表面發現的兩種蛋白質，血凝素和神經氨酸苷酶，分別可以縮寫爲H和N。

Although it is very early days, scientists says initial analysis also suggests H7N9 does not appear to make birds particularly ill - in other words it is what is known as a low pathogenic avian influenza, of LPAI.

儘管現在言之過早，但經過初步的分析，科學家聲稱，H7N9不會導致禽類患上特別嚴重的疾病——換句話說，它是一種比較輕微的家禽流行性感冒，也就是低致病性禽流感（LPAI）。

Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily mean it will be mild in humans, says Wendy Barclay, a flu virology expert at Britain’s Imperial College London.

英國帝國理工學院的病毒學專家，溫迪·巴克利說道，但是以上說法並不意味着對人類的影響也比較小。

Its mildness in birds could also mean H7N9 is a 'silent spreader' - harder to detect than highly pathogenic flu strains such as H5N1 that can wipe out entire flocks of wild birds or domestic poultry and are therefore far more visible.

H7N9病毒在禽類中的溫和表現同時意味着其傳播過程的隱蔽性，相較於高度致病性流感，比如橫掃野外和家養禽類，傳染過程明顯可見的H5N1，H7N9被探測到的難度更大。

In 2003, China initially tried to cover up an epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.

2003年，中國起初試圖掩蓋SARS疫情，SARS在中國出現，並導致全球範圍內800人死亡。