It’s been on the news a lot.

新聞已經報導過一陣子了

And for a good reason, it’s one of the deadliest diseases humanity faces…

而且還有個原因，伊波拉病毒是人類目前面臨最容易致死的疾病之一，

the second deadliest technically.

嚴格來說是第二致死的病毒。

It’s making a stand in West Africa.

它正入侵西非

Plus for the first time, two US citizens with the disease have been flown home for treatment

加上第一次入侵時間，已經有兩位染病的美國人返國治療，

but don’t bar the doors and windows and get yourself world up

但是不要緊閉門窗，讓你自己好像身陷在

into some kinda 2006 Bird Flu hysteria

2006年禽流感的恐慌中，

because we’ve met Ebola before and we’re learning more about it than ever.

因為我們之前就知道伊波拉病毒了，而且我們現在知道的資訊比之前還要多。

It used to be known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

以前通稱為伊波拉病毒出血熱，

more recently Ebola Virus disease.

但最近較常稱伊波拉病毒。

But what the media have lately been referring to simply and sometimes hysterically as Ebola

媒體最近指出，像伊波拉病毒的症狀一樣簡單卻又歇斯底里的，

is really one of at least five known species of the Ebola virus.

其實是已知的伊波拉五種病毒的其中一樣。

What they’re referring to is the most dangerous species known as the Zaire ebolavirus or Zebov

他們所報導的就是最危險的物種─薩伊伊波拉病毒，或是薩伊病毒，

named after the Central African country where it was first discovered in 1976

它是以1976年第一次在中非發現的城市來命名，

along the banks of the Ebola river.

而這座城市在伊波拉河的沿岸。

It’s in the news because it has infected more people this year

它會被新聞大肆報導是因為今年感染的人數比

than it has any other year since that first outbreak.

第一次疫情爆發時還多。

So far in 2014, it infected 1, 323 people

到2014年，已經有1323人感染伊波拉病毒，

729 have died and the virus has moved into some of West Africa’s major population centers

729人死亡，而且病毒已經入侵西非一些主要人口中心

including countries like Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and possibly the Nigerian Capital of Lagos.

包括幾內亞、賴比瑞亞、賽拉利昂以及奈及利亞的首都拉各斯。

So it’s newsworthy for sure and for plenty of reasons.

所以伊波拉病毒真的有報導價值，而且還有一些原因。

According to the World Health Organization,

根據世界衛生組織最新的公布，

Zebov has an average fatality rate of 83%

薩伊病毒有大約百分之83的致死率，

but in some outbreaks, it has killed more than 90% of the people infected.

但在疫區卻有超過百分之90的感染者死亡。

Ebola is the type hemorrhagic fever which means one of its most prominent symptoms is heavy bleeding either internally or externally

伊波拉病毒是出血熱的一種，那表示他最明顯的一個特徵是體內或體外大量出血，

but blood loss isn’t what kills its hosts.

但血液流失不是致死的最大原因。

After causing flu-like symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea,

有上吐下瀉等的流感症狀後，

Zebov targets the entire circulatory system causing blood vessels to fail blood pressure to drop

薩伊病毒以循環系統為目標，使血管壞死，血壓也會下降，

and eventually all of the major organs to shut down.

最後，所有的主要器官都會壞死。

Let’s check our heads for a minute.

回顧一下！

For one thing, Ebola is definitely contagious but it’s not as easily transmitted as like with the flu.

伊波拉病毒具傳染性，但它不像流行性感冒那麼容易傳染。

It’s not an airborne disease.

它不是空運來的疾病，

It’s only contagious by infecting people who are exhibiting symptoms at the time

它只是透過有症狀的人們來進行接觸性的傳染，

and even then it can only pass through close contact with bodily fluids.

而且它只能透過體液近距離的接觸來傳染。

That’s why people who are getting infected are healthcare workers working in pretty austere conditions

而那就是為什麼感染的人都是在嚴厲環境中工作的醫護人員

or family members of patients who treat their loved ones at home and prepare their bodies for burial.

或是病人的家人，不僅要在家照顧他們所愛的人，還要準備埋葬大體。

By being on the same airplane or in the same hospital ward as an Ebola patient

和伊波拉病毒的感染者搭同一班飛機或是待在同一間病房

doesn’t mean you’ve automatically been exposed to the virus.

不代表你就會不知不覺地接觸到病毒。

And in another glimmer of hope, it turns out that some people have developed a natural immunity to Ebola.

而且還有一絲希望，那就是有人已經產生了自然的免疫力。

A study in 2010 found out that more than 15% of people in the West African Country of Gabon carry antibodies for this Zebov virus even though there is no record of an Ebola outbreak there.

2010年的一項研究顯示儘管西非在伊波拉病毒爆發時沒有任何感染病例，但其實超過百分之15住在加彭的人們都有薩伊病毒的抗體。

Researchers think that those people who were exposed to the virus over decades probably through fruit that had been contaminated by bats

學者認為那些暴露在病毒下超過十年的人們可能已經吃下被蝙蝠污染的水果，

which are the original carriers of the disease.

而那些蝙蝠就是疾病的帶原者。

But instead of getting sick, these people just developed natural defenses.

但那些人們不會因此生病，而自然而然地有抵抗力。

We’re not sure why but as you might imagine,

我們不清楚真正原因，但就如你所想像的一樣，

there’s a lot of scientific interest in the people have gone right now

許多科學家對那些有抗體的人們很有興趣，

and of course, there’s no vaccine for Ebola but many prototypes are being developed.

當然，雖然目前還沒有疫苗可以對抗伊波拉病毒，但會發展出許多原型。

You may remember the news we shared last year about a breakthrough in this effort.

你可能還記得去年我們分享過有關這方面突破的新聞。

Biologists in Boston found that cells treated with the kind of compound called Indoline Alkaloids block the ability of Ebola virus to replicate itself.

波士頓的生物學家發現細胞透過稱為二氫吲哚生物鹼的這種混合物可以阻止伊波拉病毒自我複製的能力。

These alkaloids are the same class of chemicals that give many plants their medicinal properties.

這種生物鹼屬於同一類型，能給許多植物它們的藥物特性。

Several scientists haven’t figured out why they work or how to turn them into an effective Ebola treatment.

少數科學家還沒找出生物鹼的適用原因或是如何將生物鹼納入有效的伊波拉病毒療法中。

But even beyond the short term risks of the current outbreak,

但除了現在爆發的短期危機外，

it’s worth looking at the bigger picture.

它非常值得放大來看。

The figures coming out of West Africa while scary and tragic pale in comparison to other public health crisis in the region.

在西非，這些數字相較於其它公共衛生危機是非常恐怖且悲慘的。

Last week, I mentioned that the incidence of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is still over 12% in some countries

我上週已經提過撒南非洲某些國家的人類免疫缺陷病毒比例仍超過百分之12，

and more than 1.2 million people die from AIDS there every year.

而且每年還有超過一百二十萬的人們死於愛滋病。

Meanwhile, over 600,000 deaths occur every year due to Malaria.

同時，每年超過六十萬人死於瘧疾。

The more attention that all of these public health crises get the better.

只要越關注這些公共衛生危機，它們就會更減緩。

So maybe the best outcome of this current scare might not be the better treatment of Ebola

所以更好的伊波拉病毒療法和更多的錢都不是現在這個恐慌的最好解決辦法，

but also more money, science and brain power are being devoted to conquering even bigger threats in West Africa and other parts of the world.

科學和腦力應該更要用於征服西非及世界上其他地方更大的威脅。

Thanks for watching SciShow news.

謝謝收看科學秀新聞。

If you want to keep getting news science straight with us,

如果你想要直接看到科學相關新聞，