Tuberculosis killed one million three hundred thousand people around the world in two thousand seven. In addition, almost half a million people who were infected with tuberculosis and with H.I.V. also died. Those were listed as H.I.V. deaths.
2007 年全球有 130 万人死于肺结核。此外,还有近 50 万同时感染肺结核和艾滋病的患者死亡。他们被列在因艾滋病死亡的名单上。
An estimated one-third of all people are infected with tuberculosis. But the body's natural defenses are usually strong enough to prevent an active case. Even so, the bacteria remain in the body. If the immune system weakens at any point, they begin to spread and then attack.
据估计,全人类大约有三分之一感染了肺结核。但是人类机体的自然防御通常都足够强大,足以抑制结核病的发作。即使这样,细菌仍然留在了人体内。当人体免疫力下降到某中程度时,这些细菌就开始散播,而后攻击人体。
The bacteria that cause TB usually settle in the lungs. They spread through the air when the person coughs or sneezes or even sings and talks.
结核病的致病菌通常寄居在肺部。当带菌者咳嗽或者打喷嚏,甚至是唱歌或者谈话时,它们都会经由空气传播。
One of the most important things is to identify cases quickly -- especially drug-resistant cases, which are increasing. The patients need to be kept away from other people and begin treatment as soon as possible.
最重要的事情之一是尽快辨认出这些病例——尤其是那些逐渐增长的抗药性病例。这些病例必须隔离,尽早接受治疗。
Multidrug resistant tuberculosis, or MDR-TB, will not get better with
antibiotics normally used for tuberculosis. So doctors must use stronger, "second line" drugs when the first ones fail. Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, will not respond to any of those drugs but might still be treatable.
使用治疗结核病的常规抗生素治疗多重抗药性的肺结核( MDR-TB )已经没有效果了。因此当一线药物不起作用的时候,医生们必须使用更强效的二线药物。对于广泛抗药性的肺结核( XDR-TB ),所有的抗结核药对其都不起作用,但仍是可治疗的。
Now, researchers say they have found a much faster way to identify drug-resistant TB. The study's lead author is Graham Hatfull at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. He says current tests can sometimes take weeks in rural and poor areas of the world. By that time, the patient may already be dead.
现在研究人员称他们已经找到更快速的方法来筛选出抗药性的结核病。该研究的领导作者是宾夕法尼亚匹兹堡大学的 Graham Hatfull 。他说,在某些农村或者贫困地区,目前使用的测试方法有时需要数周时间。到那个时候,病人可能已经死亡了。
The scientists used viruses called bacteriophages to speed the process. These viruses attack bacteria. The researchers injected them with a gene that produces a green glow of light. They also injected some with first line antibiotics and others with second line drugs.
科学家们使用称为抗菌素的病毒来加速这个过程。这些病毒会攻击细菌。研究人员将一种能够产生绿色光线的基因注射到这种病毒内。同时在其中一部分病毒内注射一线抗生素,其余的注射二线药物。
Then they combined the bacteriophages with TB bacteria. If the bacteria glow, it means they are drug resistant. The researchers say a clinic worker could identify the glow with equipment available in many clinics. Test results would not have to wait for the bacteria to grow in a laboratory far away.
之后,他们使抗菌素和肺结核病菌结合在一起。如果这种细菌发光了,就表示它们是抗药菌。研究人员们称,临床工作者可以通过诊所常见的仪器识别出这种光。检测结果不再需要等待病菌在遥远的实验室里生长就可以得出了。
For now, the test itself needs more testing. But Professor Hatfull is hopeful this will take months and not years.
Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York also took part in the study, financed by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The findings appear in the journal PLoS ONE, published by the Public Library of Science.
到目前为止,这个检测本身都还需要更多的测试。但是 Hatfull 教授期望这能在在几个月完成,而非数年。
来自纽约阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦医学院的研究人员们也参与到了这个研究中,霍华德·休斯医学研究所提供了研究所需的财务支持。研究结果发布在由科学公共图书馆出版的 PLoS ONE 杂志上。
---------------------------------------- 该帖于2009年3月27日被版主推荐为精华帖。