美國新增14個疑似性傳播茲卡病例
Health authorities in the United States said they were investigating 14 new reports of the Zika virus possibly being transmitted by sex, including to pregnant women. If confirmed, the unexpectedly high number would have major implications for controlling the virus, which is usually spread by mosquito bites.
美國衛生部門稱，他們正在調查14個可能是通過性傳播的茲卡新病例，其中包括一些孕婦。這些病例的數目之多出人意料，如果獲得確認，可能就會對控制茲卡病毒的方式產生重大影響。茲卡病毒通常是由蚊子叮咬傳播的。
Scientists had believed sexual transmission of Zika to be extremely rare. Only a few cases have ever been documented. But if all the women in the cases the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is examining test positive for the virus — as two women already have, and four others have done in preliminary lab tests — officials believe there is no way other than sex that they could have contracted it.
科學家們曾經認爲通過性傳播感染茲卡的情況極其罕見。有記錄的這種病例寥寥無幾。但是，如果美國疾病控制與預防中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，簡稱CDC）正在檢測的這些女性病例結果全都呈陽性——兩名女性已證實呈陽性，完成了初步實驗室檢測的其他四人亦然——官員們相信，除了性傳播之外，她們沒有感染這種病毒的其他途徑。
The specter of so many cases — all in the continental United States — brings fresh complexity to the medical mystery of Zika. The virus is suspected to cause birth defects and a rare condition of temporary paralysis.
這種病例的數目如此之多——而且全都發生在美國本土——令茲卡的醫學之謎變得更加複雜。人們懷疑，這種病毒可以導致某些出生缺陷和一種罕見的暫時性癱瘓。
“We were surprised that there was this number,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the deputy director at the C.D.C., said in an interview. “If a number of them pan out, that’s much more than I was expecting.”
“人數這麼多，令我們驚訝，”CDC副主任安·舒沙博士(Anne Schuchat)在接受採訪時說。“如果其中不少得到證實，那會遠遠超過我的預計。”
In all the cases the C.D.C. is examining, women in the continental United States had sex with men who had traveled to countries where the virus is circulating, and developed symptoms associated with the virus within about two weeks of their male partners’ symptoms.
CDC正在研究的所有這些病例中，身處美國本土的女性都與曾經去過茲卡疫區國家的男性發生過性關係，而且在男性伴侶出現茲卡症狀大約兩週之內，她們也出現了與該病毒相關的症狀。
Officials at the C.D.C. reported the potential cases in an alert to health care providers on Tuesday.
CDC官員本週二向提供醫療服務的機構發出警報，知會了這些潛在病例。
The agency did not say exactly how many of the women were pregnant, but it reiterated its recommendation that people returning from Zika-infected areas use condoms or abstain from sex for the duration of their partner’s pregnancy. The alert said there was no evidence that women could transmit Zika virus to their sex partners, but added that more research was needed to be sure.
該機構並沒有提到這些女性中究竟有多少懷了孕，但它重申了一項建議：從茲卡疫區返回的人在伴侶懷孕期間應該使用安全套，或者避免性接觸。警報說，目前沒有證據表明女性可以將茲卡病毒傳染給性伴侶，但表示這還需要進行更多的研究才能確定。
This country has become a laboratory of sorts to test the sexual transmission of Zika, as scientists race to understand the disease. Transmission by mosquitoes is not yet happening in the continental United States because it is still winter, so health officials say they believe that any infection of an American resident who has not traveled to a place where Zika is circulating has probably been contracted through sex.
在科學家們爭相研究這種疾病之時，美國成爲了監測茲卡性傳播的某種實驗室。美國本土還沒有出現過蚊子傳播的病例，因爲這裏目前仍然是冬天，所以衛生部門官員表示，他們認爲，那些沒有去過茲卡疫區的美國居民很可能都是通過性傳播感染上了這種病毒。
“In the U.S., where most people aren’t traveling to these areas, we may be able to uncover the potential risk,” Dr. Schuchat said.
“在美國，大多數人沒有去過那些地區，所以我們也許能夠發現它的潛在風險，”舒沙說。
In all, the United States has around 90 cases of Zika, according to the most recent count from the C.D.C., most of them contracted by people who had traveled to Latin America, currently the center of the virus. If confirmed, the new reports of sexual transmission would represent about 15 percent of that total.
CDC的最新統計顯示，美國總共有大約90個茲卡病例，其中大多數感染者是曾經去過拉丁美洲的人，那裏目前是這種病毒傳播的中心。如果得到確認，這些通過性傳播感染的新病例將佔到所有茲卡感染病例的大約15%。
Questions about how frequently Zika can be transmitted by sex and how long the virus can stay in semen are particularly urgent here, given the large volume of travel between the United States and Central and South America. There were about 5.5 million visitors from South America to the United States in 2014, and nearly a million from Central America, according to figures from the Department of Commerce.
茲卡通過性行爲傳播的機率有多大，病毒可以在精液中存活多久？我們尤其需要馬上找到這些問題的答案，因爲在美國和中南美洲之間來往的人數非常之多。商務部的數據顯示，2014年有大約550萬人從南美洲來美國，有將近100萬人從中美洲來美國。
And with the season for mosquitoes — still believed to be the primary mode of infection — nearing in the United States, Tuesday’s report is likely to further complicate preparations in states across the country.
隨着美國即將進入蚊蟲滋生的季節——蚊子傳播依然被認爲是茲卡病毒傳播的主要途徑——週二的報告很可能會讓全美各州的預防工作變得更加複雜。
“This suggests that along with virus in the blood, Zika is gaining access to other fluids, including semen,” said Dr. Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “Anyone who is pregnant and lives in an area where the Zika virus is circulating will need her male partner to use condoms. In the coming weeks, that may include the U.S. Gulf Coast.”
“這意味着，除了血液之外，茲卡還能通過包括精液在內的其他體液傳播，”美國貝勒醫學院國家熱帶疾病學院(National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine)院長彼得·J·霍特博士(Peter J. Hote)說。“所有懷孕和生活在茲卡病毒傳播區域的人，都需要讓她的男性伴侶使用安全套。接下來幾周，這個範圍可能會擴大到美國的墨西哥灣沿岸地區。”
Testing of semen may be difficult. Patients at real risk in the United States need to be first tested by standard blood testing before the testing of semen would even be considered, said Dr. Gary W. Procop, a professor of pathology at the Cleveland Clinic. Only the C.D.C. and state laboratories do such testing, and only for people determined to be at high risk, he said.
做精液檢測可能會有些困難。克利夫蘭診所(Cleveland Clinic)的病理學教授、加里·W·普羅科普博士(Gary W. Procop)表示，美國面臨真實風險的病人應該首先進行標準的血液檢測，之後再考慮做精液檢測。他還表示，只有CDC和州級實驗室能做此類檢測，而且只爲被確定是高風險人羣的人做。
