VOA常速英语2015--埃博拉疫苗进入最后试验阶段

埃博拉疫苗进入最后试验阶段

An Ebola vaccine 1 candidate enters the final phase of its trial Saturday (3/7) in Guinea. If successful, a vaccine could be ready for use in five or six months.

一种埃博拉候选疫苗3月7日在几内亚进入最后的试验阶段，如果试验成果，未来五、六个月内将有疫苗面世。

The VSV-EBOV vaccine was developed by Canada’s Public Health Agency. World Health Organization vaccine expert Dr. Marie-Pierre Préziosi said Phase III will be conducted in the Basse Guinée region. It’s had the highest number of Ebola cases in the country

这种VSV-EBOV疫苗是由加拿大公共卫生局开发的，世卫组织疫苗专家玛丽·皮埃尔博士称第三阶段将在Basse Guinée地区进行试验，这是该国出现埃博拉病例最多的地区。

“Phase III trial aims to test for safety and efficacy or effectiveness of a candidate vaccine. This is a final trial prior to licensure of a vaccine. The vaccination 2 phase in itself is anticipated to last about 60 days. And then there will be a follow-up period of about 84 days. That is about three months. So altogether it should be around six months duration,” she said.

“第二阶段的试验目的是考察候选疫苗的安全性和有效性，目前是给疫苗颁发许可证之前的第三阶段，预计疫苗接种阶段本身持续大约60天，然后将有大约84天的试验后追踪期间，也就是大约3个月，所以总共需要约6个月的时间。”

The vaccine is based on a genetically 3 engineered virus that’s been given some proteins of the Ebola virus.

这种疫苗基于一种转基因病毒，这种病毒被注入了埃博拉病毒的一些蛋白质。

“This is a very common technique to make good vaccines,” she said.

“这是制造好疫苗的非常常见的技术。”

The strategy being used in the Phase III trial is known as “ring vaccination.” It’s a technique that was used to eradicate 4 smallpox 5 in the 1970s. Researchers identify a newly diagnosed Ebola patient, who is called the “index case.” Then they trace all of his or her contacts and vaccinate 6 them, if they give their consent. The goal is to create a buffer 7 zone that prevents the spread of the disease.

目前使用在第三阶段试验的策略就是所谓的“环状疫苗免疫”，这种技术在20世纪70ian带被用来消灭天花。研究者找到一名新确诊的埃博拉患者，并称之为“指示病例”。然后追踪所有与他或她结束的人，然后在获得允许的情况下对他们进行免疫，其目的是创造能预防疾病蔓延的缓冲区。

Dr. Préziosi said it’s important to have an Ebola vaccine even though the number of new cases is on the decline.

玛丽·皮埃尔博士称重要的是获得埃博拉疫苗，即使是在新病例数量开始减少的情况下。

“Although we see that cases are declining and the outbreak seems to be waning 8, unfortunately, as we speak there are still cases in various locations in Guinea. So, this really tells us that the epidemic 9 is not over. We need to continue because this environment is quite unpredictable and the epidemic might flare-up again. And also if we are able to have an effective vaccine it would be really an invaluable 10 tool to fight this outbreak and any other outbreak that would come in the future.”

“尽管我们看到病例数量在减少，疫情似乎在消退，不幸的是，我们仍能在几内亚多个地区看到病例。所以，这就让我们明白，这场疫情还未结束。我们需要继续努力，因为环境非常不可预测，疫情还可以再度爆发。如果能有一种有效的疫苗，那就是对付埃博拉或未来任何疫情的宝贵工具。”

She said a vaccine could be used in several ways in the next Ebola outbreak. For example, it could be given only to frontline workers – those in direct contact with patients – or given to large portions of a country’s population.

她说在下一次埃博拉爆发时，疫苗可以有多种用途。比如，可以只给一线的工作人员，也就是直接接触病人的人，或者给应国家的大部分人口。

“We are all holding our breath because we are living a very important moment for this outbreak and for any future outbreak,” she said.

“我们在屏住呼吸，因为对于目前这场疫情和未来任何疫情来说，现在是非常重要的时段。”

It’s not clear what the cost of an Ebola vaccine dose will be.

尚不清楚一剂埃博拉疫苗的成本是多少。