Asia MERS Outbreak Alarms Authorities
VOA News
Last updated on: June 01, 2015 10:29 AM (source)
Asia MERS Outbreak Alarms Authorities
「中東呼吸症候群」來襲，亞 洲各國當局拉警報
Brian Padden
June 01, 2015 10:29 AM
SEOUL—
Concerns over a dangerous respiratory illness have led South Korean health authorities to isolate more than 680 people who may have been exposed. China and Hong Kong also are taking steps to halt the spread of MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has killed hundreds of people in that region since its emergence in 2012.
呼吸道疾病(respiratory illness)讓南韓健康當局隔離超過680名可能曾暴露於病源的人。中國與香港也正採取行動來阻止(take steps to halt . ..)MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome 中東呼吸症候群)的散播。疾病自2012年出現(emergence)以 來，在中東地區已經造成百人死亡。
As of Monday, South Korea had reported at least 17 confirmed cases, the largest outbreak outside of the Middle East.
截至(as of)週一時 間，南韓已通報17個確診病例 (confirmed case)，是中東地區之外最大規模的疫情爆發(breakout)。
Hong Kong also has quarantined 18 people and isolated 17 more. And China’s Guangdong province, with one confirmed case of MERS, has isolated nearly 80 people.
香港已有18人被隔離檢疫(quarantine)，17 人自宅隔離(isolate)。 中國廣東省亦有一確診病例，也已隔離近80人。
The MERS virus initially produces flu-like symptoms such as fever and coughing, though these can escalate to pneumonia and kidney failure. Among confirmed cases globally, at least four out of 10 people have died, according to the World Health Organization. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, which first was reported in Saudi Arabia but later traced to Jordan, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
MERS病毒一開始產生的症狀與流感相同，像是發燒或咳嗽， 但最終可能加劇成 (escalate to . . .)肺炎或是腎衰竭(kidney failure)。 根據世界衛生組織資料，全球的確診病例中，每十人至少四人死亡。目前仍沒有疫苗與治療方法。根據美國疾病管制局的資料，最早通報此病的是沙烏地阿拉伯，但 隨後其來源可追溯到(. . . was traced to)約旦。
The disease spreads through close contact, the CDC’s website says.
根據美國疾病管制局的網站說法，此疾病經由近距離接觸散播。
Hundreds isolated
As a precaution, South Korea has isolated 682 people at their homes or in state-run facilities, said Kwon Jun-wook, the health and welfare ministry’s director of public health policy. He said the country had experienced no fatalities, though at least one patient was very ill.
南韓掌管公眾健康政策的健康與福利部門首長表示，已有682 人在自宅或是國家機構 (state-run facilities)隔離，是為預防措施(precaution)。 他說明，雖然其中有一名病患的狀況相當嚴重，但南韓目前還沒有死亡病例(fatality)。
South Korea reported its first case in May after diagnosing a 68-year-old man who’d returned to Seoul from a trip to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Authorities have identified him only as Patient 1.
一名68歲男子在五月時被診斷(diagnose)通 報為南韓第一起病例。他從巴林、沙烏地阿拉伯、阿拉伯聯合大公國旅遊後返回首爾。相關當局已認定其為第一號病人。
All of the subsequent cases reported so far have been linked to direct contact with that patient, according to South Korea’s health ministry. They were either medical personnel involved in his care or patients exposed to the man before his diagnosis.
根據南韓健康部門的說法，至目前後續被通報的病例與都可連結 至與該病患的直接接觸，皆為該病例確診前的醫療人員(medical personnel)，或是曾與其接觸的其他病患。
Outbreak response criticized
South Korea has come under some criticism for its handling of the outbreak’s early stages.
南韓在疫情早期階段的處置方法備受批評(come under criticism)。
Patient 1 went to four hospitals before he was diagnosed with MERS. At least 10 other Koreans diagnosed with the illness came in contact with him at the second hospital where he sought treatment, said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University who’s now working with the health ministry to contain the outbreak.
一號病人在診斷出MERS前去過四間醫院。韓國大學傳染病學 教授Kim Woo-joo正協助政府的健康部門控制(contain)疫 情。他表示，至少有10名確診的病患都是在第二間他曾去尋求治療的醫院跟他接觸到。
Kim said that most of those exposed were in the same room or on the same floor as Patient 1 and that two doctors were not wearing proper protective clothing.
他說，接觸到病源的是跟一號病人同房，或是在同一樓層，而有 兩名醫師也沒穿著適當的防護衣 物(protective clothing)。
Also, South Korea did not make the quarantine restrictions mandatory. And some people exposed to MERS reportedly refused to remain in voluntary isolation.
此外，南韓在最初階段也沒有採取強制性的(mandatory)限 制隔離措施，甚至傳出消息，有接觸過MERS病毒的人拒絕自主(voluntary)隔 離。
In China, a 44-year-old South Korean businessman diagnosed with MERS in Guangdong reportedly had been exposed to Patient No. 1 in Seoul. He’d begun to feel ill but, against doctor’s orders, nonetheless travelled to China through Hong Kong.
中國一名44歲的南韓商人在廣東確診，據報他曾在首爾接觸過 一號病人。他開始發病時仍不顧 醫囑(against doctor’s orders)，經過香港前往中國。
China and Hong Kong subsequently imposed quarantines. China isolated the traveler at a hospital, the Associated Press reported, adding that Hong Kong authorities on Sunday said the 18 people who’d sat near him and were quarantined have shown no symptoms.
中國與香港後續實施(impose)隔離 措施。根據美聯社(Associated Press)報導，此名旅客已在中國的醫院隔離，而據香港當局於週日的說法，該病患附近座位的18人亦已隔離，但尚未有任何症狀。
South Korean authorities say this week will be critical to see if they have contained the outbreak by preventing third-level exposure, the spread of the disease to a person who did not have direct contact with the first infected patient.
南韓當局表示，本周是疫情防堵的關鍵(critical)， 將視是否成功防止了第三層的暴露感染，疾病未擴散到與第一名病患接觸之外的人。
(編按：原新聞時間為6/1日，至發稿時間臺灣亦無病例。請電子報讀者們密切注意疫情變化！)
Language Notes
respiratory (a) 呼吸的 *respire (v) 呼吸 halt (v) 停止；終止 outbreak (n) (戰爭、疾病等)爆發 quarantine (v) 隔離  *新聞中另外也使用isolate表示隔離，但程度上不一：quarantine是屬於在政府限定的場所(通常是醫院)被隔離、監控病情，但 isolate是指自行居家隔離 escalate (v) 上升；(事件的情勢演變)加劇 precaution (n) 預防措施 fatality (n) 死亡 diagnose (v) 診斷 . . . *diagnosis (n) 診斷結果 personnel (n) 人員，員工  *本字是集合名詞，也就是使用單數型來指一群人，另有常見意思是指公司的「人資、人事部門」；常混淆的是形容詞personal「個人的」，兩字發音也不 同，須注意 contain (v) 防堵，遏制 *本字最常見的意思是「包含」，但也有文中「控制住、防堵」的意思，後常接疾病、情緒之類的字 mandatory (a) 義務的;強制的 voluntary (a) 自願的，志願的
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, select the text above to reveal the hidden answers. 1. Security forces halted the demonstrators by blocking the road. 2. His financial problems escalated after he became unemployed. 3. It was a bad crash, but surprisingly there were no fatalities. 4. Farms in the area have been closed off in an attempt to contain the disease. 5. This is a restricted area, open to authorized personnel only.
編譯：簡嘉呈
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A patient dons a mask to protect against MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, at Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea, June 1, 2015. See more on VOA.
