数百人死于埃博拉病毒 西非疫情规模空前

ABUJA, Nigeria — As the death toll mounted from the worst outbreak of the Ebola virus, West African leaders quickened the pace of emergency efforts Thursday, authorizing house-to-house searches for infected people and deploying the army to combat the disease.

尼日利亚阿布贾——随着这次最严重的埃博拉病毒爆发造成的死亡人数的上升，西非地区多国领导人周四加快了应急行动的步伐，授权挨门挨户寻找感染者，并部署军队抗击该疾病。

International efforts to contain the virus also gained momentum and urgency. The World Health Organization announced a $100 million plan Thursday to get more medical experts and supplies to the overwhelmed region, as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States committed the agency to sending 50 more experts there in coming weeks.

国际社会控制埃博拉病毒的努力也逐步加强，并且变得更为紧迫。世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)于周四宣布了一项1亿美元（约合6.2亿元人民币）的计划，让更多的医疗专家和医疗用品进入病毒肆虐的西非地区。与此同时，美国疾病预防与控制中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，简称CDC）的主任也承诺，在未来几周内再派50名专家前往当地。

First recognized in March in Guinea, the Ebola outbreak has surged through porous borders to invade neighboring countries in an unprecedented way, quickly outstripping fragile health systems and forcing health officials to fight the battle on many fronts. Past outbreaks have been more localized, but the current one has spread extensively over a vast region.

今年3月，首先在几内亚发现了埃博拉病毒的这一轮爆发的迹象。现在，疫情已经以一种前所未有的方式越过疏于防范的边境，攻入邻国，很快便让脆弱的卫生系统不堪重负，迫使卫生官员多线作战。以往的爆发更多地出现在局部地区，但当下这一轮疫情已在一片幅员辽阔的地区广泛扩散。

The stepped-up effort is long overdue, according to some analysts. They say the initial response was inadequate on both the national and international level and allowed the disease to mushroom from a local outbreak to an international threat.

一些分析人士认为，早就应该加强行动了。他们表示，国家内部和国际社会最初均应对不力，导致疾病从局部爆发迅速演变成了国际威胁。

The viral illness has extracted a terrible toll, killing 729 people, including top physicians in Liberia and Sierra Leone, nations that already face an acute shortage of doctors. The outbreak has also sickened two U.S. aid workers, who were being rushed back to the United States for treatment.

这一病毒性疾病已经造成了惨重损失，导致729人死亡，其中包括利比里亚和塞拉利昂的顶尖内科医生。这两个国家本来就面临着严重的医生短缺。本轮爆发还导致两名美国援助人员患病。美国正在努力将二人尽快送回国内接受治疗。

“The whole thing has been very incompetently handled,” said Lansana Gberie, a historian from Sierra Leone. “If the government had quarantined this area” where the outbreak started, in the remote northeast, “they could have contained it. Instead they opened a treatment center in Kenema, a major population center.”

“对整件事情的应对都非常不力，”来自塞拉利昂的历史学者兰萨纳·格贝里(Lansana Gberie)说。“如果政府起先对这片地区进行隔离，他们可能已经控制住了。相反，他们在人口密集的大城市凯内马开设了一家治疗中心。”他指的地区是疫情开始爆发的地方，位于该国偏远的东北部。

On PoliticoSL, a widely followed website in Sierra Leone, journalist Umaru Fofana has written recently that “the country seems leaderless in the fight.” Now that cases have spread so widely, controlling the outbreak will be more costly and difficult.

在塞拉利昂关注者甚众的网站PoliticoSL上，记者奥马鲁·福法纳(Umaru Fofana)最近写道，“在这场战斗中，国家似乎群龙无首。”鉴于感染病例的扩散已如此之广，控制疫情将变得更加困难，代价也将更高。

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the CDC, warned on Thursday that the worsening outbreak could take at least three to six months to bring under control, “even in a best-case scenario.” Hostility and violence directed at health workers are making the job harder, he said.

CDC主任托马斯·R·弗里登博士(Thomas R. Frieden)周四警告，“即便是在最乐观的情况下”，也需要至少三至六个月时间才能将日渐恶化的疫情控制住。他说，针对医务人员的敌意和暴力行为加大了这项工作的难度。

The CDC advised Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to the three countries hardest hit by the virus: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The agency issued a “Level 3” travel warning, reserved for grave situations. It was also used for the outbreak of the highly contagious respiratory disease SARS.

CDC建议美国人，如无绝对必要，避免前往受病毒打击最严重的三个国家：几内亚、塞拉利昂和利比里亚。CDC发布了“3级”旅行预警，用以表示形势极为严峻。在传染性很强的呼吸道疾病SARS爆发时，也曾用到“3级”预警。

Frieden said that a major concern is that travelers who become ill or injured and need medical care may risk being exposed to Ebola at hospitals in the region. When infection-control measures are poor, hospitals become “amplification points,” spreading the disease they are supposed to contain, he said.

弗里登称，一大隐患是，生病或受伤的旅行者会因为需要医疗救治而在当地医院接触到埃博拉病毒。他说，当传染控制措施比较薄弱时，医院就会成为“扩散点”，传播它们本应控制的疾病。

The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said Thursday that the United States was considering a medical evacuation to bring home U.S. aid workers diagnosed with Ebola. Two, infected in Liberia, were in grave condition, according to a statement on the website of a charitable organization, Samaritan's Purse.

白宫新闻发言人乔希·欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)周四表示，美国正在考虑医疗疏散，将确认感染埃博拉病毒的美国救援工作者接回国。慈善组织撒玛利亚救援会(Samaritan's Purse)在其网站上发表声明称，在利比里亚受到感染的两人病情危险。

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta issued a statement on Thursday saying it had been told of plans to transfer a patient with Ebola to its special containment unit, set up in collaboration with the CDC, in the next several days. Because of privacy laws, the hospital declined to name the patient.

亚特兰大艾默里大学医院(Emory University Hospital)周四发表声明称，已接到通知，旗下的疾病特控部门将在未来几天内收治一名感染埃博拉病毒的患者。这一部门由CDC与该医院合作成立。因为考虑到隐私法规，医院拒绝透露患者姓名。

WHO said the tally of deaths from Ebola rose after 56 more people died during a four-day period between July 24 and 27 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria had one fatality. In the same period, 122 new cases were detected, bringing the total of confirmed and suspected cases to 1,323.

世卫组织表示，在几内亚、利比里亚和塞拉利昂，从7月24日到27日的四天时间内，共有56人身亡，进一步增加了死于埃博拉病毒的人数。尼日利亚有一人死亡。在同一时期内，发现了122个新病例，使得确认和疑似病例总数上升到了1323例。

The virus causes high fever, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, bleeding. In the current outbreak, about 60 percent of the cases have been fatal. It is transmitted by contact with bodily fluids from someone who is ill.

这种病毒会引发高烧、呕吐、腹泻，有时还会造成出血。在本轮疫情中，大约60%的病例死亡。它通过接触患者的体液来传播。

There is no vaccine to prevent the illness, and no specific treatment for it, only care to try to nurse people through the worst of the fevers, bleeding and other symptoms. The only way to stop an outbreak is to isolate each infected patient, trace all their contacts, isolate the ones who get sick and repeat the process until, finally, there are no more cases.

目前尚无任何疫苗可以预防这种疾病，也没有专门的治疗方法，只能照顾患者，尝试让其熬过发热和出血等症状最凶猛的阶段。唯一能阻止疫情传播的方法就是隔离每位受感染的病人，找到每个曾与他们接触的人，隔离其中的患者，然后重复这一过程，直到没有任何新病例为止。

President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone declared a public health emergency. He said security forces would be deployed to support health professionals, and that “all epicenters of the disease will be quarantined” along with “localities and homes where the disease is identified.” The measures would be enforced for 60 to 90 days.

塞拉利昂总统欧内斯特·巴伊·科罗马(Ernest Bai Koroma)宣布全国进入公共卫生紧急状态。他表示，将部署安全部队前去支持专业医护人员，“对所有发病中心”以及“发现患者的地点和家庭采取隔离措施”。这些措施的实施时长将为60至90天。