H7N9 flu

危言不该耸听 流感需冷静预防

Wēiyán bùgāi sǒngtīng liúgǎn xū lěngjìng yùfáng

H7N9 flu

就在中国宣称已证实H7N9病例几天之后,全世界的流感专家就开始搜集样本中的DNA序列数据,这些样本是从病人身上分离而出,试验的目的是评估该种病毒的严重性.

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.

中国国家健康与家庭规划委员会已证实,已有16个人感染新型H7N9流感,其中6名患者已死亡.

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed that 16 people had been infected with the new H7N9 flu, with six deaths.

世界卫生组织宣称,以上的H7N9病例具有极其重要的意义,因其是在人类中发现的首批病例.位于日内瓦的联合国卫生代表处发表声明,这是一个特殊的事件,世界卫生组织对此表示极为重视.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the cases of H7N9 are 'of concern' because they are the first in humans. "That makes it a unique event, which the World Health Organization is taking seriously," the Geneva-based United Nations health agency said today.

流感病毒的分类依据是病毒株表面发现的两种蛋白质,血凝素和神经氨酸苷酶,分别可以缩写为H和N.目前为止,H7N9病毒株还未表现出可以在人群之间传播的特征.

Flu viruses are classified based on two types of protein found on their surface, haemagglutinin and neuraminidase, which are abbreviated to H and N. So far, this lack of human-to-human transmission also appears to be a feature of the H7N9 strain.

其它的禽流感病毒株,比如H5N1,已经出现多年,可以在禽类之间传播,禽类和人类之间传播,但并不会在人群之间传播.

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.

尽管现在言之过早,但经过初步的分析,科学家声称,H7N9不会导致禽类患上特别严重的疾病---换句话说,它是一种比较轻微的家禽流行性感冒,也就是低致病性禽流感.

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.

但是世界顶尖的流感专家之一,来自荷兰伊拉兹马斯医学中心的阿布•沃斯特沃斯声称,DNA序列显明,专家应该对某些基因突变提高警惕,而且必须加强对动物与人体的有关监控.该项病毒的感染范围已扩大至哺乳动物和人类,这也是令人烦恼不已的地方.我们必须对此保持紧密关注.

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.

词语解释：

严重性 （yánzhòng xìng） severity 

委员会 （wěiyuán huì） commission

传播 （chuánbō） transmission

警惕 （jǐngtì） on alert

监控 （jiānkòng） surveillance

(Source: myechinese.com)