黄色一级a毛片-日韩欧美在线免费观看-亚洲天堂影音先锋-性欧美大战久久久久久久83-ww欧美-一区福利-97高清国语自产拍-人人看人人爽-天堂网一区-久久水蜜桃-久久久久久黄-男人j进入女人j内部免费网站-波多野结衣精品在线-99热这里精品-99精品网-日韩在线网

A coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa has now spread to several other countries, including Israel and Belgium, prompting a spate of travel restrictions across Europe, Asia, and North America.

首次在南非發現的新冠病毒變體現在已經傳播到了另外幾個國家，比如以色列和比利時。新冠病毒變體的發現和傳播引發了歐洲、亞洲和北美地區采取了一連串的旅行限制措施。

（koto_feja/E+/Getty Images）

Spate：一連串，接二連三（通常指不愉快的事物）

The new variant, called Omicron, carries a concerning number of mutations that could make it more transmissible or more likely to cause severe disease than the Delta variant, public-health experts say.

據公共衛生專家介紹，被稱為“奧密克戎”（Omicron）的新病毒變體攜帶有大量令人擔心的突變，因此其比德爾塔病毒變體更加容易傳播或更加容易引起嚴重疾病。

Mutation：（生物物種的）突變，變異

The World Health Organization labeled Omicron a "variant of concern" on Friday – a designation given to variants like Delta that require scrutiny from public-health officials.

世界衛生組織于周五將“奧密克戎”標記為“需要關注的變異體”-這個名稱專門用于命名類似于德爾塔這樣的，需要公共衛生官員留意的變體。

Preliminary evidence suggests that Omicron may increase the risk of reinfection relative to other variants of concern, WHO said.

據WHO介紹，初步證據表明，與其他需要關注的變異體相比，“奧密克戎”可能會增加二次感染的風險。

But scientists have barely begun to examine Omicron's threat: Fewer than 100 of the variant's genome sequences have been reported globally, compared with Delta's more than 2.8 million sequences.

盡管如此，科學家們尚未開始仔細研究“奧密克戎”所帶來的威脅：與德爾塔超過280萬個序列相比，在全球所報告的“奧密克戎”變異體的基因序列還不到100個。

"We don't know very much about this variant yet," Maria van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said at a Thursday briefing. "What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations, and the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves."

WHO 新冠肺炎技術主管Maria van Kerkhove在周四的情況介紹會上表示：“我們對該病毒變體知之甚少。我們所了解的是該變體有大量的變異。我們所擔心的是，當一個變體有如此多的變異時，它會對病毒的表現產生影響。”

She added: "It will take a few weeks for us to understand what impact this variant has."

她補充表示：“我們需要花幾周來了解這一變體所產生的影響。”

Many scientists are hoping for answers much sooner than that, Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health, told Insider.

得克薩斯大學休斯敦公共衛生學院的流行病學家Katelyn Jetelina向Insider表示，許多科學家希望能夠在更短的時間內獲得答案。

The variant could be lying undetected in some parts of the globe, she said.

她表示，這一變體可能存在于地球的某些地方且尚未被發現。

"I would not be surprised if it's already landed in the US," Jetelina said. "We've already seen that this has been transmitting in communities like Turkey, Egypt, Belgium, Israel."

“如果說病毒已經進入美國，我一點都不會意外，”Jetelina表示。“我們已經看到這一變體已經在土耳其、埃及、比利時和以色列傳播。”

Omicron contains several new, unfamiliar mutations

“奧密克戎”含有數個新的、不為人們所熟悉的變異

South African researchers identified the first Omicron case on November 9, then reported the variant to WHO on Wednesday.

南非研究人員在11月9日發現了首個“奧密克戎”病例，并于周三向WHO報告了該病毒變體。

Scientists are hopeful that they spotted the variant early, since the majority of known cases are still concentrated in southern Africa.

讓科學家們抱有希望的是，他們在早期就發現了病毒變體，而且絕大部分已知案例都集中在非洲南部。

"South Africa has one of the best genomic surveillance systems in the world, so we know that they're really constantly evaluating this virus," Jetelina said. "For them to have 'only' detected 100 cases thus far in South Africa really gives us hope that this is the beginning stages of spread."

“南非是世界上擁有最好的基因組監管系統的國家之一，所以我們確信，他們確實是在持續性地對該病毒進行評估，”Jetelina表示。“目前在南非僅發現100個病例確實帶給了我們希望，因為這意味著病毒傳播還處于初始階段。”

Still, a number of markers suggest that Omicron is highly transmissible relative to other coronavirus variants.

然而，大量標記物表明，與其他新冠病毒變體相比，“奧密克戎”非常具有傳染性。

For one, South Africa's coronavirus cases have risen sharply over the past few weeks: Average daily cases have risen thirteenfold since the variant was first discovered on November 9, from about 275 to 3,700 cases per day, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

比如說，南非新冠病例在過去數周出現激增。根據約翰霍普金斯大學的數據，自從變體在11月9日被第一次發現后，南非的日平均病例增長了13倍，從每天大約275例增加到了3700例.

Omicron also contains several worrisome mutations found in other variants of concern – including Delta and Alpha – that could help it spread, render vaccines less effective, or lead to more severe disease.

“奧密克戎”還含有數個令人擔憂的的變異。這些變異也存在于其他令人關注的變體，包括德爾塔和阿爾法中。這些變異使病毒變體更易傳播，使疫苗效果有所減弱或導致更加嚴重的疾病。

The new variant carries some unfamiliar mutations, as well.

新變體還攜帶有一些我們不熟悉的變異。

"There are a number of mutations that we don't have any information about," Jetelina said. "They've never seen them on previous variants of concern. So, I think, one of the first questions is: What are these? Do we need to worry about them or not?"

Jetelina表示：“有大量變異我們還不了解。這些變異是此前需要關注的變體中所沒有的。因此，我最想問的問題之一就是：這些變異是什么？我們是否需要關注？還是無需關注？”

So far, scientists have identified 32 mutations on the variant's spike protein – the protruding crownlike bumps on the surface of the virus that help it invade our cells.

目前，科學家們已經在變體的刺突蛋白中發現了32個變異。刺突蛋白就是病毒表面凸起的、類似于桂冠的隆起，這些隆起可以幫助病毒侵入我們的細胞。

spike protein：刺突蛋白

Other variants of concern have had fewer spike mutations.

其他需要關注的變體并沒有這么多的突變。

"The spike protein is basically the key into our cells to infect us, so once that protein changes for better or for worse, then we need to really pay attention to it," Jetelina said. "That is probably what is creating this increase in cases that we're seeing in South Africa right now."

“刺突蛋白是進入我們的細胞并使我們感染病毒的關鍵。因此，一旦蛋白發生好轉或惡化，那么我們就需要去關注它。這很可能就是導致南非病例目前增加的原因。”

Public-health experts say there's no need for panic yet 

公共健康專家表示，目前還無需恐慌

A higher number of mutations doesn't necessarily make a variant deadlier or more transmissible – nor does it suggest on its own that Omicron will pose a greater challenge to vaccines than other variants of concern.

變異數量增加并非一定代表變體更致命或更加易于傳播-也并非意味著“奧米克戎”與其他需要關注的變體相比，會對疫苗造成更大的挑戰。

"We don't know yet if this new variant is outcompeting Delta," Jetelina said. "We also still don't know if it will evade our vaccines yet, either."

“我們目前還不清楚這個新的病毒變體是否會比德爾塔還要厲害。另外，我們也不清楚該變體是否會侵入我們的疫苗。”Jetelina表示。

Scientists are still waiting on lab studies to determine how well coronavirus antibodies – either from natural infection or vaccines – hold up against Omicron.

科學家們還在等待實驗室的研究結果，以了解新冠病毒抗體（無論來自于天然感染或疫苗）是如何對抗“奧密克戎”的。

They're also watching carefully to see how quickly the variant spreads across the globe, particularly in countries with higher vaccination rates. (South Africa has fully vaccinated just 24 percent of its population, compared with 59 percent in the US.)

他們也在仔細觀察變體會以怎樣的速度在全球蔓延，特別是在疫苗接種率較高的國家蔓延。（南非的接種率僅為24%，而美國的接種率為59%。）

"We really just need to hold tight to see how this plays out and what our next move is," Jetelina said.

“我們真正要做的就是靜觀其變，觀察這個新變體到底如何表現以及我們接下來的應對舉措。”Jetelina表示。

Moderna, BioNTech-Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson all said on Friday that they were testing how well their vaccines protected against Omicron.

?莫德納（Moderna）、BioNTech-輝瑞和強生都于周五表示，他們目前正在測試疫苗對“奧密克戎”的防疫效果。

People who have been fully vaccinated and wear masks in public indoor settings shouldn't feel compelled to change their behavior right now, Jetelina added.

已經全程接種疫苗并在公共室內場所佩戴口罩的人們無需立刻改變行為方式，Jetelina補充表示。

Mike Ryan, the executive director of WHO's health-emergencies program, shared a similar message on Thursday.

WHO 衛生突發項目執行主管Mike Ryan于周四分享表達了同樣的觀點。

"Viruses evolve, and we pick up variations. It's not the end of the world. The sky is not falling in," he said. "There is this idea that we're just waiting for the next variant, and I don't want people to spend their lives worrying about that every day."

“病毒會進化，而我們也會發現病毒的變異。世界不會因此毀滅。天也不會塌下來。我們正在等著病毒的下一次變異。我不希望人們整天都把時間花在擔心病毒變異上面。”

原文來源：SCIENCE ALERT  翻譯&編輯：Sarah