在新冠肺炎的各種癥狀逐漸浮出水面的同時(shí)，科學(xué)家也發(fā)現(xiàn)，一些新冠病毒感染者在痊愈后，身體并沒有回到之前的狀態(tài)，而是出現(xiàn)了長期的疲勞感等癥狀，這些癥狀可能會(huì)持續(xù)數(shù)周甚至數(shù)月。

Most people experience Covid-19 as a short-term illness: once the infection has been fought off, they bounce back to health. But evidence is emerging of a significant minority – sometimes referred to as “l(fā)ong haulers” – who struggle with long-term symptoms for a month or longer.

大多數(shù)感染新冠病毒的人都是經(jīng)歷了一場(chǎng)小?。阂坏┎《颈粨敉?，他們很快就恢復(fù)了健康。然而新的證據(jù)顯示，少部分人——有時(shí)被稱為“打持久戰(zhàn)的人”——會(huì)出現(xiàn)長期的癥狀，可能持續(xù)一個(gè)月，也可能更長。

Anecdotal reports have abounded of people left with fatigue, aching muscles and difficulty concentrating. Online support groups on Facebook and Slack have sprung up, already hosting thousands of members who say they have not got better.

有零星報(bào)告講述了許多痊愈后感到乏力、肌肉酸痛和難以集中注意力的人。臉書和Slack上興起了在線支持小組，已經(jīng)有數(shù)千名沒有好轉(zhuǎn)的人加入。

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Matt Hancock said it was difficult to gauge the scale of the problem. “This is a really serious problem for a minority of people who have Covid,” the health secretary said. “Some people have long-term effects that look like a post-viral fatigue syndrome.”

英國衛(wèi)生大臣馬特·漢考克周日（7月5日）在BBC的安德魯·馬爾秀上告訴主持人說，這個(gè)問題難以估量。漢考克說：“對(duì)于感染過新冠病毒的一小部分人，這是一個(gè)很嚴(yán)重的問題。新冠病毒在一些人身上留下了長期的影響，感覺像是病毒后疲勞綜合征?！?/p>

Scientists are only just beginning to investigate the potential causes of enduring fatigue, but say that there are likely to be a wide variety of reasons why some people face a longer road to recovery.

科學(xué)家才剛開始調(diào)查持續(xù)性疲勞感的潛在原因，不過他們表示，有些人康復(fù)期更長可能有各種各樣的原因。

"Fatigue itself will take on lots of different guises,” said Chris Brightling, a professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Leicester, who is leading a newly announced ￡8.4m study of the long-term health impacts of Covid-19.

萊斯特大學(xué)呼吸醫(yī)學(xué)教授克里斯·布萊特靈說：“疲勞會(huì)以多種不同假象出現(xiàn)。”英國新公布了一個(gè)研究新冠病毒對(duì)健康長期影響的項(xiàng)目，布萊特靈是這項(xiàng)耗資840萬英鎊（約合人民幣7404萬元）研究的領(lǐng)頭人。

A report published in February by the World Health Organization, based on preliminary data, suggested that in mild cases the median recovery time from Covid-19 is roughly two weeks from the onset of symptoms, and in severe or critical cases about three to six weeks. However, some of those who appear to have only mild illness initially also end up wrestling with symptoms, including fatigue, that linger for weeks or months.

世界衛(wèi)生組織二月份發(fā)布的一份基于初步數(shù)據(jù)的報(bào)告顯示，新冠肺炎輕癥患者的中位康復(fù)時(shí)間為出現(xiàn)癥狀后兩周左右，重癥患者的康復(fù)時(shí)間約為3到6周。但是，有些最初癥狀看似輕微的患者最后卻出現(xiàn)了持續(xù)數(shù)周或數(shù)月的癥狀，包括疲勞乏力。

Those who have suffered severe illness in the acute phase, including admission to intensive care, typically experience muscle loss, which can result in direct physical fatigue. Others are left with lung damage, including scarring that can cause breathlessness, leaving people feeling tired. There are other physical effects that are less clearly understood – the disease is known to cause blood clots in the lungs and other parts of the body – and neurological symptoms ranging from stroke to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

那些在急性期發(fā)展成重癥的患者，包括進(jìn)入重癥監(jiān)護(hù)室的人，通常會(huì)經(jīng)歷肌肉流失，而這將直接導(dǎo)致身體疲勞。其他人則受到了肺部損傷，包括導(dǎo)致喘不上氣的創(chuàng)傷，這也會(huì)讓人感覺疲勞。還有其他了解的沒有那么清楚的身體影響——目前已知新冠肺炎會(huì)導(dǎo)致肺部和身體其他部位出現(xiàn)血栓——還有中風(fēng)、焦慮和抑郁等情緒紊亂的神經(jīng)癥狀。

"How common each of those things are, we simply don’t have good information,” said Brightling.

布萊特靈說：“這些癥狀有多普遍，我們還沒有掌握充分的信息?！?/p>

There is previous evidence linking Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) to infectious outbreaks, including Epstein-Barr virus and Q fever. A study of people infected during the 2003 Sars outbreak revealed that almost a third had a reduced tolerance to exercise many months later, despite having normal lung function.

先前的證據(jù)曾將慢性疲勞綜合征和人類皰疹病毒第四型和Q熱等傳染病暴發(fā)聯(lián)系在一起。一項(xiàng)對(duì)2003年非典感染者的研究揭示，近三分之一的人在肺功能恢復(fù)正常數(shù)月后，對(duì)鍛煉的承受力降低了。

Brightling’s study will track around 10,000 patients who were admitted to hospital with Covid-19. This will allow scientists to assess what proportion of patients end up with which long-term health impacts, and what the risk factors are for different symptoms. This could help pave the way to better treatments and medical support for those who are left struggling months after initially becoming ill.

布萊特靈的研究將追蹤因新冠肺炎而入院的1萬名患者。這將讓科學(xué)家可以評(píng)估留下長期后遺癥的患者占據(jù)多大比例，以及不同癥狀的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素。這將有助于為那些染病后癥狀持續(xù)數(shù)月的患者提供更好的治療和醫(yī)療支持掃清障礙。

Figuring out how Covid-19 triggers fatigue symptoms could also offer new insights into some of the ways that chronic fatigue can occur more generally. “One of the big challenges is that there’s so much that we don’t yet understand,” said Brightling. “People who specialise in fatigue are seeing people with multiple reasons why they’ve ended up at that point.”

查明新冠病毒如何引發(fā)疲勞癥狀也可以為長期疲勞普遍發(fā)作的一些方式提供新見解。布萊特靈說：“一個(gè)較大的挑戰(zhàn)是我們還不理解的東西太多了。專門研究疲勞癥狀的人對(duì)于患者為何會(huì)感到疲勞能給出多種原因?！?/p>

In this case, he said, because the trigger for fatigue is known, there is a better chance of understanding what is happening in the body. “It gives you a way of trying to unravel that puzzle,” said Brightling.

布萊特靈指出，在這種情況下，由于了解了疲勞的誘因，就能夠更好地理解身體里在發(fā)生什么。他表示：“這為你提供了解開謎團(tuán)的一種辦法?！?/p>

英文來源：衛(wèi)報(bào)

翻譯&編輯：丹妮