疫情的陰云還未散去，前不久又在世界各地發(fā)現(xiàn)了多個(gè)新冠病毒新變種，其中以在英國(guó)、南非和巴西出現(xiàn)的幾個(gè)變種威力最強(qiáng)。這些變種有多危險(xiǎn)？最近陸續(xù)上市的新冠疫苗對(duì)這些變種是否有效？來(lái)看看專(zhuān)家怎么說(shuō)。

New variants of coronavirus are emerging that are more infectious than the original one that started the pandemic.

現(xiàn)階段涌現(xiàn)出的新冠病毒新變種比疫情初期的毒株更具傳染性。

Scientists are urgently studying these mutated versions to understand what threat they pose.

科學(xué)家正迫切地研究這些變種毒株，以了解它們的威脅性有多大。

Experts' concerns currently focus on a small number of new variants of coronavirus:

專(zhuān)家們目前最關(guān)注的是以下幾種新冠病毒新變種：

A UK variant that has become dominant in much of Britain and has spread to more than 50 other countries

出現(xiàn)在英國(guó)的變種：在英國(guó)大部分地區(qū)蔓延，并傳播到50多個(gè)其他國(guó)家

A South Africa variant that has also been found in at least 20 other countries, including the UK

出現(xiàn)在南非的變種：除南非以外，在包括英國(guó)在內(nèi)的至少20個(gè)國(guó)家也發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一變種

A new variant from Brazil

巴西新出現(xiàn)的變種

It's not unexpected that new variants have developed - all viruses mutate as they make new copies of themselves to spread and thrive.

出現(xiàn)新變種，這是意料之中的事，因?yàn)樗胁《驹趶?fù)制過(guò)程中都會(huì)變異，這樣才有利于傳播和繁殖。

There are many thousands of different versions, or variants, of Covid circulating.

當(dāng)前在傳播過(guò)程中的新冠病毒變種版本多達(dá)數(shù)千甚至數(shù)萬(wàn)個(gè)。

Most of these differences are inconsequential. A few can even be harmful to the virus's survival. But some can make it more infectious or threatening.

大部分變異都是無(wú)關(guān)緊要的。其中有少數(shù)變異甚至不利于病毒的生存。但是有些變異則會(huì)讓病毒更具傳染性或威脅力。

新冠病毒新變種的威脅力有多大？

It's suspected that the UK, South Africa and Brazil variants could be much more contagious or easy to catch than earlier versions.

有人懷疑，英國(guó)、南非和巴西出現(xiàn)的變種可能比早期毒株的傳染性要強(qiáng)得多。

All three have undergone changes to their spike protein - this is the part of the virus which attaches to human cells.

這三種毒株的纖突蛋白都發(fā)生了變異，纖突蛋白是病毒附著到人體細(xì)胞的部分。

As a result, these variants seem to be better at infecting cells and spreading.

因此，這些變種似乎更容易感染人體細(xì)胞和傳播。

Experts think the UK or "Kent" strain emerged in September and may be up to 70% more transmissible or infectious, although latest research by Public Health England puts it between 30% and 50%.

專(zhuān)家認(rèn)為，9月份在英國(guó)發(fā)現(xiàn)的“肯特”變種傳染性可能要高出70%，不過(guò)英格蘭公共衛(wèi)生署最近的研究認(rèn)為該變種的傳染性比原毒株高出30%到50%。

The South Africa variant emerged in October, and it has more potentially important changes in the spike protein than the UK variant.

10月份在南非發(fā)現(xiàn)的變種在纖突蛋白上發(fā)生的變異可能比英國(guó)變種更厲害。

It has one of the same mutations as the UK one, plus two more that scientists think may interfere more with vaccine effectiveness. One of these may help the virus evade parts of the immune system called antibodies.

南非的變種毒株的纖突蛋白發(fā)生的其中一處變異和英國(guó)變種相同，另外還有兩處變異，科學(xué)家認(rèn)為可能會(huì)干擾疫苗的有效性。其中一處干擾疫苗的變異可能會(huì)幫助病毒躲避人體免疫系統(tǒng)中的部分抗體。

The Brazil variant emerged in July and was recently detected in four travellers arriving in Japan from Brazil. It has three key mutations in the spike protein that make it similar to the South Africa one.

最近在從巴西抵達(dá)日本的四名旅客身上檢測(cè)到的變種毒株是在去年7月份在巴西出現(xiàn)的。這一變種的纖突蛋白有三處關(guān)鍵變異和南非出現(xiàn)的變種相似。

疫苗對(duì)新變種有效嗎？

The current vaccines were designed around earlier variants, but scientists are confident that they should still work against the new ones, although perhaps not quite as well.

當(dāng)前的疫苗是針對(duì)早期毒株設(shè)計(jì)的，但是科學(xué)家相信它們對(duì)新變種也有效，不過(guò)可能有效性會(huì)打折扣。

Lab studies are underway to check this.

實(shí)驗(yàn)室正在開(kāi)展研究以確認(rèn)疫苗是否對(duì)新變種有效。

Vaccines train the body to attack several parts of the virus, however, not just these sections of the spike protein.

疫苗會(huì)訓(xùn)練人體攻擊病毒的幾個(gè)部位，不只是攻擊纖突蛋白的特定部位。

Variants could emerge in the future that are more different again.

未來(lái)的變種可能還會(huì)發(fā)生更大的變異。

Even in the worst case scenario, the vaccines could be redesigned and tweaked to be a better match - in a matter of weeks or months, if necessary, say experts.

專(zhuān)家表示，即使最壞的情況發(fā)生了，人類(lèi)也可以重新設(shè)計(jì)和調(diào)整疫苗，以更好地匹配新變種，如果有必要的話(huà)，數(shù)周或數(shù)月內(nèi)就可完成。

As with flu vaccines, where a new shot is given each year to account for any changes in circulating flu viruses, something similar could happen for coronavirus.

流感疫苗每年都要注射以應(yīng)對(duì)流感病毒在傳播過(guò)程中的變異，新冠疫苗可能也會(huì)如此。

新變種是否更危險(xiǎn)？

There is currently no evidence to suggest that any of them cause more serious illness.

目前沒(méi)有證據(jù)表明任何一個(gè)變種會(huì)導(dǎo)致更嚴(yán)重的疾病。

Measures such as washing your hands, keeping your distance from other people and wearing a face covering will still help prevent infections, and because the new variants spread more easily it is important to be extra vigilant.

勤洗手、同他人保持距離和佩戴口罩等措施仍然有助于防止被感染，但因?yàn)樾伦兎N更容易傳播，所以我們應(yīng)當(dāng)格外警惕。

英文來(lái)源：BBC

翻譯&編輯：丹妮