中东呼吸综合症,一场新的病毒之战

MERS virus hits South Korea hard

中东呼吸综合症--一场新病毒席卷韩国

South Korea has closed schools and canceled some public events over concerns about a new virAl outbreak. Since April, a new disease there has sickened at lEast 87 people, killing six. All contracted what's called Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.

考虑到一场新病毒的爆发，韩国学校停课，并取消了很多公共活动。自四月份以来，韩国最新爆发疾病已导致87人生病，6人死亡。受害者均被一种名为中东呼吸综合征所感染，简称MERS。

The disease can resemble a cold or flu. For instance, its symptoms may include sneezing, diarrhea and vomiting. But in severe cases, people may develop pneumonia or kidney failure.

这种疾病类似于感冒或者流感，症状包括打喷嚏，腹泻，呕吐等等，严重的患者甚至会发展到肺炎，肾衰等。

To date, health officials in South Korea have quarantined more than 2,500 people. All had been in contact with the sick people. A concern was that the large, but limited outbreak could mushroom into a pandemic - a global spread. In fact, the virus seems to spread mostly inside of hospitals or among family members.

迄今为止，韩国卫生官员已对2500名与患者有过接触的人进行了检疫。但现在令人担忧的是这场规模大同时又兼具局限性疾病的爆发可能会迅速发展，蔓延至全球。事实上，这种病毒似乎主要在医院或家庭成员之间传播。

Explainer: What is a virus?

讲解员：什么是病毒？

The World Health Organization is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Officials there say that standard infection-control measures should end the outbreak. But people in South Korea remain frightened. And that's with good reason. Since the disease first emerged in 2012, at least 1,179 people have been sickened. Of these, up to four in every 10 have died. In South Korea, now, many people wear surgical masks whenever they go out in public.

世界卫生组织位于瑞士日内瓦。那里的官员称标准感染控制措施会结束这场突发病毒。但韩国人对其仍然十分恐慌，他们之所以这样有充分的理由。自2012年这种疾病爆发后，至少有1179人因此生病，并且其中多达四成人死亡。现在在韩国，人们无论什么时候外出公共场合都会戴着医用口罩。