進(jìn)屋該不該讓客人脫鞋？家里來(lái)客人時(shí)，你是不是也經(jīng)常糾結(jié)這個(gè)問(wèn)題？

最新研究指出，鞋子帶進(jìn)室內(nèi)的細(xì)菌數(shù)量一般都不足以讓普通的健康人生病。所以，下次請(qǐng)人來(lái)做客時(shí)，敞開(kāi)門歡迎人家就好了！

Are you one of those hosts who's immediately gripped by this conundrum as your guests step across the threshold into your home: Should you, or shouldn't you, ask them to remove their shoes?

客人跨進(jìn)家門的時(shí)候，你是否也糾結(jié)過(guò)這個(gè)難題：應(yīng)不應(yīng)該讓他們脫鞋呢？

conundrum: n. [k??n?ndr?m] 難題; 復(fù)雜難解的問(wèn)題

On the one hand, it makes you look like a fussy host. On the other, what about the legions of disease-causing bacteria that will gleefully leap off their shoes and inevitably infest your home?

一方面，這讓你看起來(lái)像個(gè)挑剔的主人。另一方面，如果大量的致病細(xì)菌大踏步地隨著鞋子進(jìn)入你家，并開(kāi)始滋生，可怎么辦呢？

Avoiding bacterial invasion at the risk of a little social awkwardness seems like a no-brainer. But are shoe bacteria something we should really be worried about in our homes? Here's what science tells us about how to navigate this conundrum.

冒著一點(diǎn)社交尷尬的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)來(lái)避免細(xì)菌入侵，這似乎是一個(gè)挺容易的選擇題。但是，我們真的需要擔(dān)心鞋子帶進(jìn)家里的細(xì)菌嗎？下面來(lái)看看科學(xué)家是如何破解這個(gè)難題的。

no-brainer: n. 容易作出的決定；愚蠢的人(或行為)

To start with, there's no point in sugarcoating the pill: the average shoe harbors "hundreds of thousands of bacteria per square inch," according to Jonathan Sexton, an environmental microbiologist and research specialist at the University of Arizona.

首先，沒(méi)有必要掩飾事實(shí)：美國(guó)亞利桑那大學(xué)環(huán)境微生物學(xué)研究專家喬納森·塞克斯頓表示，普通的鞋子上“每平方英寸有數(shù)十萬(wàn)的細(xì)菌”，

The soles of our shoes are essentially a meet and greet for these microbes, and with each step we take, we pick up new attendants. "Pretty much wherever you go, you're going to be picking up stuff," Sexton told Live Science. (Beware, however: Some places like bathrooms do harbor more bacteria and a greater diversity, he said.)

我們的鞋底通常都聚集著大量的細(xì)菌，我們每邁出一步，鞋底都會(huì)粘上新的細(xì)菌。塞克斯頓告訴趣味科學(xué)網(wǎng)站說(shuō)：“不管你去哪里，鞋底都會(huì)粘上細(xì)菌。”（但要注意的是，浴室等地方的細(xì)菌更多，種類也更多。）

But exactly what types of bacterial communities are hanging out on our shoes, and do they pose a legitimate health threat?

那么，我們的鞋底粘的是到底是哪種細(xì)菌？它們對(duì)我們有健康危害嗎？

Well, previous studies have shown that almost all shoes in some research samples were coated with fecal bacteria, including one prominent bug called Escherichia coli (E.coli), which researchers discovered on 96 percent of shoe soles. While many types of E.coli are harmless to humans, some strains can cause severe diarrhea, urinary tract infections and even meningitis.

此前的研究顯示，在一些研究樣本中，幾乎所有鞋子都帶有糞便細(xì)菌，其中一種主要的細(xì)菌為大腸桿菌——研究人員在96%的鞋底上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種細(xì)菌。雖然許多類型的大腸桿菌對(duì)人類無(wú)害，但某些菌株可能導(dǎo)致嚴(yán)重的腹瀉、尿路感染甚至腦膜炎。

"Not necessarily on every shoe, but on a good majority, you can find some type of E.coli there," Sexton said.

塞克斯頓說(shuō)：“并不一定在每只鞋子上，但在絕大多數(shù)鞋子上你都能發(fā)現(xiàn)某種大腸桿菌?！?/p>

Apart from this ubiquitous germ, other studies have also found evidence of things like Staphylococcus aureus, which underlies a wide range of skin infections, and more worryingly, infections of the blood and the heart.

除了這種普遍存在的細(xì)菌，還有一些研究發(fā)現(xiàn)了鞋子上存在金黃色葡萄球菌的證據(jù)。這種細(xì)菌可能導(dǎo)致多種皮膚感染疾病，更讓人擔(dān)憂的是，還會(huì)感染血液和心臟。

ubiquitous: adj. [ju?b?kw?t?s] 無(wú)所不在的； 普遍存在的

Another prominent study published in 2014 in the journal Anaerobe sampled 30 households in Houston, Texas, for the presence of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a bacterium with a long lifespan that commonly causes bowel problems like diarrhea.

在另一項(xiàng)重要的研究中，研究人員采集了30種家用物品的樣本，以檢驗(yàn)梭狀芽胞桿菌是否存在。梭狀芽胞桿菌的存活期很長(zhǎng)，通常會(huì)導(dǎo)致痢疾等腸道疾病。這項(xiàng)研究在德克薩斯州休斯頓開(kāi)展，研究結(jié)果于2014年發(fā)表在《厭氧菌》期刊上。

Of all the household items they sampled, the researchers found that shoes harbored more C. difficile than even the surface of a toilet — underscoring the power that grubby soles could have to spread germs through a home.

在采集的所有家用品樣本中，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)鞋子里的梭狀芽胞桿菌比馬桶表面的還要多，這也證實(shí)了臟鞋子在家里傳播細(xì)菌的能力。

But despite the horrifying picture this paints of microbe-infested interiors, the research doesn't actually give us anything too serious to worry about. While many of us might want to launch into a house-cleaning frenzy at the thought of a wayward shoe, the reality is that the load of bacteria our shoes bring indoors isn't typically high enough to make the average healthy person very sick.

盡管這幅微生物入侵的畫(huà)面很可怕，但這項(xiàng)研究實(shí)際上并沒(méi)有給我們帶來(lái)任何值得擔(dān)心的嚴(yán)重問(wèn)題。許多人也許一想到鞋上的細(xì)菌就想來(lái)一場(chǎng)大掃除，但事實(shí)是，我們的鞋子帶進(jìn)室內(nèi)的細(xì)菌數(shù)量一般都不足以讓普通的健康人生病。

"For a healthy individual, bacteria on shoes likely pose no or minimal risk," said Kevin Garey, the author on the 2014 study and professor at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. Usually, a healthy person would need to come into contact with thousands of microbes from one harmful bacterial strain to actually become infected with something, Sexton added.

美國(guó)休斯敦大學(xué)藥學(xué)院教授凱文·加里說(shuō)：“對(duì)于健康的人來(lái)說(shuō)，鞋子上的細(xì)菌并不會(huì)構(gòu)成風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，或者說(shuō)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)很小?！眲P文·加里也是前述2014年研究報(bào)告的作者。塞克斯頓說(shuō)，健康的人通常需要接觸很多有害細(xì)菌菌株才會(huì)真正感染。

Another point is that most of us don't spend a lot of time on the ground, where shoe bacteria dwell. "The exposure makes the poison. So if you're not exposed to it, you're not going to get sick from it," Sexton said. In some cases, layers of bacteria coating the floor can become "re-aerosolized" and enter the air we breathe, lifted by the draft from a window, for instance, Sexton explained. That might increase infection risk. But the greatest threat really lies on the ground. "I'd be more worried about a child crawling around on the floor. For a healthy adult, it's not too big of an issue," Sexton said.

另一點(diǎn)是，大多數(shù)人不會(huì)在地面上待很久，而地面正是鞋子攜帶細(xì)菌的主要聚集場(chǎng)所。塞克斯頓說(shuō)：“接觸才會(huì)導(dǎo)致感染。所以如果你沒(méi)有接觸，就不會(huì)因此生病。”他解釋說(shuō)，在某些情況下，地面上覆蓋的一層細(xì)菌可能會(huì)因從窗外進(jìn)來(lái)的一股氣流而“重新霧化”，從而進(jìn)入我們呼吸的空氣。這可能增加感染風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。但最大的威脅實(shí)際上還是在地面上。他說(shuō)：“我更擔(dān)心的是在地板上爬來(lái)爬去的孩子。而對(duì)于健康的成年人來(lái)說(shuō)，這不是太大的問(wèn)題。”

Another group of people who may need to take extra precautions are those who are immunocompromised, meaning their defenses against infection are lower than usual. "In a person who is at risk for infections — usually someone recently hospitalized — attention to good household cleaning can be important," said Garey.

免疫功能不全的人們也需要格外防范，他們抵抗感染的能力比普通人要低。加里說(shuō)：“對(duì)于可能被傳染（一般最近住過(guò)院）的人來(lái)說(shuō)，注意室內(nèi)衛(wèi)生很重要?！?/p>

immunocompromised: adj. [?mj?no?'k?mpr?m?st] 免疫系統(tǒng)受損傷[削弱]的

In summary, if you're at risk of infection, or you have a small child, "it would be a good idea to take your outdoor shoes off when you enter your home," Garey told Live Science. "For most healthy persons, however, you can make the decision as much based on preference and habit, as potential health concern."

總而言之，加里告訴趣味科學(xué)網(wǎng)站說(shuō)，如果你有感染的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，或者你有年幼的小孩，“那么你在進(jìn)屋時(shí)最好把鞋子脫掉，不過(guò)對(duì)大多數(shù)健康人來(lái)說(shuō)，你可以根據(jù)潛在的健康考量來(lái)做決定，也完全可以按照個(gè)人喜好和習(xí)慣”。

And it's worth remembering that bacteria exist elsewhere than on our shoes: They're in the air, on our skin, in our hair and inside our very guts. In fact, we live in a constantly swirling bacterial soup that would be impossible to completely disinfect.

要記住，細(xì)菌不僅存在于鞋子上：它們還存在于空氣中、我們的皮膚上、頭發(fā)上、還有腸道里。實(shí)際上，我們一直與細(xì)菌共存，完全徹底的消毒是不可能的。

"Healthy bacteria in our gut, skin and elsewhere keep us healthy and protect us from other bacteria that can cause us illness," Garey said. "I don't think everyone appreciates that some bacteria are also good for us."

加里說(shuō)：“我們的腸道和皮膚等處都有有益健康的細(xì)菌，使我們保持健康，免遭致病細(xì)菌的侵害。我并不認(rèn)為所有人都知道有些細(xì)菌對(duì)我們是有好處的?！?/p>

來(lái)源：趣味科學(xué)網(wǎng)站、參考消息網(wǎng)

翻譯&編輯：yaning