中东出现非典样病毒 至少一人死亡

Global health authorities are hunting for cases of a mysterious respiratory illness that killed at least one person in Saudi Arabia and left another who traveled there in intensive care in a London hospital.

全球卫生机构正在搜寻一种神秘呼吸系统疾病的病例。该病已在沙特阿拉伯造成至少一人死亡，另有一名曾前往沙特的人目前正在伦敦一家医院的重症监护室接受治疗。

Health officials said the source of the virus infecting both is unknown, though they have identified it as a coronavirus, part of a large family of viruses that in most cases cause common colds, but also have caused SARS.

卫生部门官员说，上述两人感染的病毒来源不明，不过他们已经确认这是一种冠状病毒。这种病毒属于一大类病毒中的一种，这类病毒通常会引发普通感冒，但也曾引发非典型肺炎(SARS)。

Severe acute respiratory syndrome erupted in China in late 2002 and spread to a number of countries, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing about 775 before it disappeared in mid 2003.

2002年底，中国爆发了非典，并扩散至多个国家，导致逾8,000人染病，约775人死亡，非典疫情在2003年年中消退。

The World Health Organization said the new virus has been identified in a 49-year-old man from Qatar who traveled to Saudi Arabia before falling ill Sept. 3. He is being treated for acute respiratory syndrome and kidney failure.

世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)说，在一名49岁卡塔尔男子体内检测到了这种新型病毒，这名男子曾前往沙特，之后于9月3日患病。他目前正因急性呼吸系统综合征和肾衰竭而接受治疗。

The virus that infected him bears a 99.5% similarity to one isolated from the lung tissue of a 60-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who died this summer after suffering respiratory and kidney failure, the WHO said.

世界卫生组织说，该男子感染的病毒与今夏一名死于呼吸衰竭和肾衰竭的60岁沙特男子肺组织中分离出来的病毒的相似度达99.5%。

Saudi officials identified a third death, but didn't give further details. The WHO said it was a suspect case that can't be confirmed postmortem.

沙特官员发现了第三例死亡病例，但没有透露更多详细情况。世界卫生组织说，这是一例疑似病例，在对尸体进行检验之前还不能确定。

However, the U.K.'s Health Protection Agency said it was investigating the case of a person from the Middle East who died in the U.K.

不过，英国健康保护署(Health Protection Agency)说，正在就一名中东人在英国死亡一事进行调查。

'There is no evidence at present to suggest that it is caused by the same virus or linked to the other two cases,' the HPA said, adding that it was 'aware of a small number of other cases of serious respiratory illness in the Middle East in the past three months.'

英国健康保护署说，目前没有证据表明此人的死亡是由与另外两例病例相同的病毒造成的，或是与那两例病例有关。该机构还说，据它所知，过去三个月中，中东还出现了几例严重呼吸系统疾病病例。

The cases come a month ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage, which draws millions of Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. The Hajj pilgrimage runs this year from roughly Oct. 24 to Oct. 29.

这些病例发生时距离麦加朝圣(Hajj pilgrimage)还有一个月。每年麦加朝圣会吸引数百万穆斯林前往沙特朝圣。今年的麦加朝圣将从大约10月24日持续至29日。

Saudi Arabia's health ministry played down the threat. 'Such occasions are rare…and there is no cause for concern,' the health ministry said.

沙特卫生部淡化了疾病的威胁。卫生部说，这类偶发病例很少见，没有必要担心。

The two confirmed cases have no connection to one another─except that both were in Saudi Arabia. The Qatari man was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in Qatar on Sept. 7 and taken by air ambulance to London Sept. 11.

两例确诊病例除均发生在沙特外，彼此之间没有关联。9月7日，上述卡塔尔男子在卡塔尔入院就医，在重症监护室中接受治疗，9月11日被医用飞机送到伦敦。

With no indication yet whether the new virus is like SARS, which spread from person to person, officials are tracking this new virus closely.

目前尚无迹象显示新型病毒与非典病毒是否类似，有关部门正在密切跟踪这种病毒。非典病毒可以在人际间传播。

'There is way too little information,' WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said. 'We don't know if the denominator is two cases or 20,000 cases. We don't know how it is transmitted.'

世界卫生组织发言人哈特尔(Gregory Hartl)说，信息太少，我们不知道病例有两个，还是两万；我们不清楚病毒的传播方式。

But Mr. Hartl said the new disease was unlikely to be SARS itself, because the symptoms differ. Kidney failure wasn't a feature of SARS, and in general is unusual for a respiratory illness, he said.

不过，哈特尔说，新的疾病不太可能是非典，因为症状不同。他说，肾衰竭不是非典的症状，呼吸系统疾病通常也很少出现肾衰竭。

The WHO has alerted health authorities around the world about the two cases and said reports of potential cases were being followed up.

世界卫生组织已经就这两例病例向全球卫生机构发出警报，并且说正在密切跟踪潜在病例报告。