From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
Is a new deadly polio virus hiding somewhere in the world? Some scientists believe this might be the case.
是否有一种新的致命性脊髓灰质炎病毒藏身于世界上的某处？有些科学家认为事实可能就是如此。
Polio does not usually kill. The disease can cause paralysis, leaving victims unable to walk or move parts of their bodies.
脊髓灰质炎通常不会致命。这种疾病会导致瘫痪，使得受害者无法走动或移动身体的一些部位。
But polio was deadly during a 2010 spread of the virus in the Republic of Congo. Nearly half of the 445 people infected with the virus died.
但脊髓灰质炎2010年在刚果共和国的一次传播是致命的。被这种病毒感染的445人中有近半人死亡。
VOA’s Steve Baragona reports that new research says there might have been a weak spot in the polio vaccine. A mutated, or changed, polio virus was able to resist the antibodies created by the vaccine. The study says a mutated polio virus was responsible for that unusually deadly outbreak.
美国之音的Steve Baragona报道称，新的研究声称脊髓灰质炎疫苗可能有一个弱点。一种变异脊髓灰质炎病毒成功抵御了疫苗产生的抗体。该研究称，一种变异脊髓灰质炎病毒导致了那次不同寻常的致命性疾病爆发。
The researchers of the study say their findings show new and dangerous kinds, or strains, of polio may emerge as the goal of getting rid of the virus nears.
这项研究的研究人员表示，他们的研究结果表明，随着这种近似病毒的消除，新型或危险类型的脊髓灰质炎可能会出现。
Scientist Felix Drexler studies viruses at the University of Bonn in Germany. He says the patients in the Congo outbreak were unusual in an important way.
科学家费利克斯·德雷克斯勒（Felix Drexler）在德国伯恩大学研究病毒。他说，刚果这次疾病暴发中的患者在某个重要方面非同寻常。
"About half of them remembered having taken three doses of live vaccine. That made it even more bizarre, because if they had been vaccinated, they shouldn’t be sick."
他说，“他们中近一半人想起注射过三剂活性疫苗。这使得它更加离奇。因为如果他们接种过疫苗就不应该患病。”
Mr. Drexler and researchers in Europe and Africa studied that polio virus. They found it had some new mutations. The mutations prevented antibodies that fight the virus from attaching to the virus.
德雷克斯勒和欧洲以及非洲的研究人员研究了那些脊髓灰质炎病毒。他们发现它存在一些新的变异。这种变异阻止了对抗这种病毒的抗体依附到这种病毒上。
"We thought, ‘Wow, maybe that could affect the ability of the antibodies in human blood to neutralize the virus.’ And yes, it did."
“我们想，‘哇，可能这会影响人类血液中的抗体压制这种病毒的能力。’而事实的确如此。”
The researchers reported their findings in the publication, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They tested the virus in Germany against blood samples from people with better than average vaccination coverage.
研究人员在《美国国家科学院院刊》上发布了他们的研究结果。他们在德国对这种病毒对抗人血样本进行了测试，这些人血样本采自超出一般疫苗接种率的人群。
"Up to 30 percent actually had to be considered completely unprotected."
“高达30%的人实际上已经被认为完全不受（疫苗接种）保护。”
The Republic of Congo had been polio free before the 2010 outbreak. It took four nationwide immunization campaigns to stop the mutated virus.
刚果共和国在2010年这次爆发前一直没有脊髓灰质炎。该国采取了四次全国性免疫运动来阻止这种变异病毒。
Felix Drexler says the effort worked because almost every man, woman and child got vaccinated with the strongest form of the vaccine.
德雷克斯勒表示，该措施起到了效果，因为几乎男女老少都接种了最强类型的疫苗。
Historically, the polio vaccine has worked. But Mr. Drexler and others are now wondering how well it works.
从历史上看脊髓灰质炎疫苗有效果。但德雷克斯勒先生和其他人现在想知道它在多大程度上有效。
"The question that the experts are asking is, is the vaccine good enough to enable us to eradicate polio virus?"
“专家们的疑问在于，疫苗是否好到能让我们根除脊髓灰质炎病毒。”
Experts say the end of polio is near. There have been fewer than 150 cases in the world this year. And the virus is found mostly in just three countries.
专家们表示，脊髓灰质炎即将被消灭。今年只有不到150起病例。而且这种病毒大多发现于仅仅三个国家。
Olen Kew studies viruses with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He says the problem in Congo was not the vaccine. He notes that the vaccine has prevented the polio virus everywhere it has been used. He blames Congo’s civil unrest in the 1990s and early 2000s that had messed up vaccination campaigns.
欧伦·克佑（Olen Kew）在美国疾病预防控制中心研究病毒。他说，刚果的问题不在疫苗。他指出，疫苗在接种的各个地方都阻止了脊髓灰质炎病毒。他指责上世纪90年代和本世纪初刚果的国内骚乱打乱了疫苗接种运动。
"What happened in Congo was, it hadn’t been used for quite a long period of time and a susceptible group opened up. And then when the virus was introduced, it had devastating effects."
“刚果在很长一段时间未接种这种疫苗，从而产生了一波易感人群。然后当这种病毒传入时就极具破坏性影响。”
Walt Orenstein is with the Emory Vaccine Center. He says stronger vaccines might be helpful. But, he adds, the end of polio is very close. He believes that the tools currently in use could do the job.
沃尔特·奥伦斯坦（Walt Orenstein）就职于埃默里疫苗中心。他说，更强的疫苗可能有用。但他补充说，脊髓灰质炎即将被消灭。他认为目前接种的疫苗就能实现这点。
"I think the most important message, to me, is we need to push hard and push fast and terminate transmission as quickly as possible."
“对我来说最重要的信息就是，我们需要更努力更快地推动接种，并尽可能快地终止病毒传播。”
Mr. Orenstein says that health workers need to clear the last few areas where the polio virus exists. Then, he says, talk about mutant strains or stronger vaccines would be unnecessary.
奥伦斯坦先生表示，医务工作者需要消除脊髓灰质炎病毒存在的最后几个地区。他说那时就没有必要谈论突变病毒株或更强疫苗了。
I’m Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥（Anna Matteo）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)
(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)