西非埃博拉疫情蔓延似在趋缓
The World Health Organisation has for the first time expressed “cautious optimism” that the growth in new Ebola cases in west Africa may be slowing down.
世界卫生组织(WHO)首次对西非埃博拉(Ebola)疫情表达了“谨慎的乐观”，称该地区新病例增速或许正在放缓。Bruce Aylward, who is in charge of the WHO response to Ebola, said in Geneva he was particularly encouraged by evidence of a downward trend in Liberia, one of the three worst-affected countries.
世卫组织埃博拉应对行动的负责人布鲁斯•艾尔沃德(Bruce Aylward)在日内瓦表示，他尤其对利比里亚新病例增速的下行趋势感到鼓舞。利比里亚是埃博拉疫情最严重的三个国家之一。
The WHO’s official total number of Ebola cases has reached 13,703 – a big jump from the 10,141 cases it reported four days ago. But Dr Aylward said that was mainly the result of the data being updated with old cases, rather than new cases arising.
世卫组织官方公布的埃博拉病例总数已达13703例，与4天前公布的10141例相比出现了大幅增长。但艾尔沃德表示，这主要是因为更新了一些旧病例的数据，而不是新病例增加的结果。
“Do we feel confident that the response is now getting an upper hand on the virus? Yes, we are seeing a slowing rate of new cases, very definitely,” Dr Aylward said.
“我们是否确信抗击病毒的行动正在占据上风？是的，我们观察到新病例增长速率正在放缓，非常肯定，”艾尔沃德表示。However, Dr Aylward also urged people not to celebrate prematurely over any apparent downturn in the epidemic. “I’m terrified that the information will be misinterpreted and people will think Ebola is under control,” he said.
然而，艾尔沃德敦促人们不要过早地庆祝任何疫情蔓延放缓的迹象。“我很害怕信息遭到误读，人们会认为埃博拉已经得到控制，”他说。Any let-up in the battle against the virus might lead to “an oscillating pattern where the disease moves up and down”.
在对抗埃博拉的战斗中，任何放松攻势的行为都可能导致“疫情出现起伏波动”。The improvement in Liberia seems to be due to a combination of more treatment facilities, better contact tracing and safer burial practices, together leading to fewer new infections from Ebola patients.
利比里亚的疫情得到改善，似乎是增加治疗设备、更好地追踪接触者以及遵循更安全的埋葬方法的共同作用，这使因接触埃博拉病患而感染的新病例减少了。In Sierra Leone the number of cases continues to increase in some areas. “We’re still seeing this thing burning quite hot in parts of Sierra Leone,” Dr Aylward said
在塞拉利昂，某些地区的病例数量持续上升。“我们观察到，埃博拉仍然在塞拉利昂的部分地区肆虐，”艾尔沃德说。Tracing the progress of individual patients, the WHO estimates an overall mortality rate of 70 per cent, though people who receive treatment in a well-equipped clinic are slightly less likely to die. The WHO plans to set up 56 Ebola clinics with 4,700 beds in west Africa. Of these 15 clinics with 1,050 beds are already operational and another 22 clinics are expected to open during November.
通过追踪病患的情况，世卫组织估测，感染埃博拉病患的总体死亡率为70%，不过在设施完备的诊所接受治疗的患者死亡率稍低。世卫组织计划在西非设立56家埃博拉诊所，总共配备4700个床位。其中，配备了1050个床位的15家诊所已经开始运营，另有22家诊所有望在11月投入使用。Meanwhile, two former Nato secretaries-general and dozens of leading European politicians have urged the alliance to dispatch troops, aircraft and ships to west Africa to help contain the Ebola crisis.
与此同时，两位北约(Nato)前秘书长和几十名欧洲政治领袖已经敦促北约向西非派遣军队、飞机和舰船以帮助遏制埃博拉危机。
