研究表明新的登革热疫苗可能会导致严重疾病

    A new study shows a vaccine designed to prevent dengue fever could actually be making people sick.
    一项新的研究表明,一种旨在预防登革热的疫苗实际上可能会使人生病。

    Dengue infects an estimated 400 million people worldwide each year. The virus spreads to human beings through the bite of an insect, the mosquito.
    预计全球每年有4亿人感染登革热。这种病毒通过蚊虫叮咬传播给人类。

    Most people who get dengue suffer health problems like those resulting from a mild case of influenza, like a higher than normal body temperature.
    多数登革热感染者会出现一些健康问题,像是轻微流感引发的这些症状,像是体温略高于常。

    But the illness is more severe the second time a person gets it. In serious cases, it can cause bleeding inside the body and even death. About 25,000 people a year die from the infection.
    但是这种疾病在人们第二次患病时会更加严重。在严重情况下,它会导致体内出血甚至死亡。每年大约有2.5万人死于这种感染。

    The drug Dengvaxia is so far the only vaccine approved for use against dengue. Several countries - including Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Paraguay and the Philippines - have already approved use of the drug. But health officials are still trying to decide the best way to release the vaccine.
    Dengvaxia是迄今为止唯一批准用于对抗登革热的疫苗。包括巴西、墨西哥、哥斯达黎加、巴拉圭和菲律宾在内的几个国家已经批准了该药的应用。但是卫生官员仍在设法确定释放该疫苗的最佳途径。

    Trials of Dengvaxia involved more than 30,000 people in 10 countries. Among young people, the drug was found to reduce infections by 60 percent, and hospitalizations by 80 percent. But over time, many of those vaccinated got seriously ill with dengue.
    Dengvaxia的试验涉及了10个国家的3万多人。在年轻人中,这种药物被发现可以降低60%的感染以及80%的住院治疗。但是随着时间推移,许多接种者患上了严重的登革热疾病。

    Researchers from Britain and the United States studied the results of the tests. The researchers were from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Imperial College London and the University of Florida. They found that the vaccine acted as a first infection in people who had not had the virus before.
    来自英国和美国的研究人员研究了这些试验结果。这些研究人员分别来自约翰霍普金斯大学彭博公共卫生学院、伦敦帝国学院和佛罗里达大学。他们发现,这种疫苗在此前从未感染病毒的人群中扮演了首次感染的角色。

    The researchers reported their findings in the journal Science.
    研究人员在《科学》杂志上发表了他们的研究结果。

    The researchers say they are concerned that people who get infected a second time after the vaccine can get severely sick. This could explain why young children especially were getting ill. They had not lived long enough to get a first infection.
    研究人员表示,他们担心人们在接种后被第二次感染会病得非常严重。这就能解释为什么尤其是小孩开始患病,因为他们年龄不大没有第一次感染。

    Based on the findings, the World Health Organization is warning health care workers not to give the vaccine to anyone younger than nine.
    根据这项研究结果,世界卫生组织提醒医护人员不要给九岁以下儿童接种该疫苗。

    But data showed that people other than children were getting severe dengue cases if they had the vaccine, but were not infected before they received it.
    但是数据显示,除儿童之外,其他人如果接种了疫苗但是在接种前没有感染过也开始患上了严重的登革热病。

    "What we suggest is ... maybe having been exposed to dengue in the past is more important than age itself," said Isabel Rodriguez-Barraquer of the Bloomberg school.
    彭博公共卫生学院的Isabel Rodriguez-Barraquer表示,“我们想说的是,可能过去感染过登革热比年龄本身更为重要。”

    The study found that the vaccine should not be a problem in countries with many cases of dengue. In such areas, Dengvaxia was found to reduce severe sickness and hospitalizations by 20 percent to 30 percent.
    研究发现,这种疫苗在登革热病例很多的国家不应该算是个问题。在这些地区,Dengvaxia被发现减少了20%到30%的严重疾病和住院治疗。

    But the researchers warned that in countries where only 10 percent of people have been infected with dengue, the vaccine needs to be carefully used. Ideally, Rodriguez-Barraquer said, people should be tested before getting vaccinated, to see if they have been infected in the past.
    但是研究人员警告称,在那些只有10%人口感染登革热的国家,这种疫苗需要谨慎使用。Rodriguez-Barraquer表示,理想情况下,人们在接种前应该检测是否以前被感染过。

    The researchers are also looking forward to trial results from additional new dengue vaccines.
    研究人员还在期待着更多新登革热疫苗的试验结果。

    I'm Bryan Lynn.
    我是布莱恩·林恩。(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!)