An outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has heightened concerns about the rare but deadly virus. Public health officials say that the threat to the general public remains low based on what we know about the virus and how it spreads.

大西洋一艘邮轮上爆发的汉坦病毒疫情加剧了人们对这种罕见但致命病毒的担忧。公共卫生官员表示，基于目前对该病毒及其传播方式的认知，该病毒对普通公众的威胁依然较低。

The outbreak involves the Andes strain of the virus.

本次疫情涉及的是汉坦病毒的安第斯毒株

There are many different strains of hantavirus, said Dr. Gaby Frank, director of the Johns Hopkins Special Pathogens Center in Baltimore. Laboratory testing has shown that the cruise outbreak involves the Andes strain, which is endemic to South America, including Argentina, where the ship departed on April 1. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the W.H.O., said the initial cases of hantavirus were in a couple believed to be infected before they boarded in Argentina.

巴尔的摩约翰斯·霍普金斯大学特殊病原体中心主任加比·弗兰克博士表示，汉坦病毒存在多种不同毒株。实验室检测确认，本次邮轮疫情的致病原为安第斯毒株，该毒株是南美洲的地方性流行毒株，这艘邮轮4月1日正是从阿根廷启航。世界卫生组织流行病与大流行病预备及预防负责人玛丽亚·范·科克霍夫博士称，本次疫情最初的汉坦病毒感染病例为一对夫妇，据信他们在阿根廷登船前就已被感染。

Most forms of hantavirus spread through contact with the feces, urine and saliva of infected rodents, including when humans breathe in particles of the virus. The Andes virus is the only strain known to spread from human to human, though such cases are rare.

大多数汉坦病毒毒株通过接触受感染啮齿动物的粪便、尿液和唾液传播，包括人类吸入含病毒气溶胶颗粒的情况。安第斯病毒是目前已知唯一可发生人传人的汉坦病毒毒株，不过此类传播病例十分罕见。

Unlike the flu, Covid or even the common cold, it’s exceedingly difficult for the Andes strain to move between people, said Bryce Warner, a research scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan who has extensively researched hantavirus.

萨斯喀彻温大学疫苗与传染病研究所长期致力于汉坦病毒研究的研究科学家布莱斯·沃纳表示，与流感、新冠甚至普通感冒不同，安第斯毒株的人际间传播难度极高。

The flu and Covid primarily spread from the upper respiratory tract and replicate in high levels. Hantavirus sheds less easily, and also burrows deep into the lungs and infects blood vessels. “It’s not very easy for the virus to get out,” Dr. Warner said.

流感和新冠病毒主要在上呼吸道复制，并在体内大量复制。而汉坦病毒不仅难以排出体外，还会深入肺部组织、感染血管。沃纳说：“这种病毒很难从人体中排出。”

Those at highest risk of person-to-person transmission are people who have been in close quarters for prolonged periods of time with someone who has been infected, like health care workers or those who share a household. Two of the passengers who died on the ship were a married couple. The ship’s doctor showed symptoms of the virus and was evacuated from the ship. It isn’t clear yet how other people on board may have been infected.

人际传播的最高风险人群是与感染者长期处于密闭空间的人，比如医护人员或共同居住者。本次邮轮上两名死亡的乘客是一对夫妻，随船医生出现病毒感染症状后已被撤离船只。目前尚不清楚船上其他人员的感染途径。

Dr. Van Kerkhove has said that some of the cases were in close contact with one another, and that “human-to-human transmission can’t be ruled out.”

范·科克霍夫博士表示，部分病例之间存在密切接触，且“无法排除人传人的可能性”。

Most passengers remain on the ship.

大多数乘客仍滞留船上

Health officials have not said how those on the ship may need to quarantine when they disembark. They might ask people who were exposed to the infected cases to quarantine, but it’s tricky to keep people isolated for an extended period of time, since it can take between one and six weeks after a person is exposed for symptoms to appear.

卫生部门尚未明确乘客下船后可能需要采取何种隔离措施。相关部门或会要求确诊病例的接触者进行隔离，但长期隔离的执行难度极大，因为从接触病毒到出现症状可能需要一至六周的时间。

The W.H.O. said that health officials have initiated contact tracing for people who may have been exposed to people who left the ship, such as one woman who flew to South Africa for care and who later died.

世界卫生组织称，卫生部门已对可能接触过离船者的人员启动接触者追踪，其中包括一名飞往南非就医后死亡的女性。

Some passengers have already left the ship, including Americans. The Georgia Department of Public Health said it was monitoring two residents who are “currently in good health and show no signs of infection,” adding that they were following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

部分乘客已离船，其中包括美国公民。佐治亚州公共卫生部门表示，正在监控两名当地居民，二人“目前健康状况良好，无任何感染迹象”，同时称二人正在遵循美国疾控中心的相关建议。

Outside of this outbreak, the virus is dangerous, but rare.

除本次疫情外，该病毒危险但罕见

In general, hantaviruses pose a small risk to the general population. There have been a total of 890 cases in the United States since surveillance began in 1993. The vast majority of these have been caused by the Sin Nombre strain of the virus and have occurred west of the Mississippi River, with case counts highest in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California. Of these cases, 35 percent have been fatal.

总体而言，汉坦病毒对普通人群的感染风险极低。美国自1993年启动监测以来累计报告890例汉坦病毒感染病例，其中绝大多数由“无名”型毒株引发，发生在密西西比河以西地区，新墨西哥州、科罗拉多州、亚利桑那州和加利福尼亚州的病例数最高。这些病例的病死率为35%。

The Andes virus is not endemic, or native, to the United States, though there have been imported cases from other countries, said Steven Bradfute, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

新墨西哥大学健康科学中心副教授史蒂文·布拉德富特表示，安第斯病毒并非美国本土的地方性流行毒株，不过美国曾出现过境外输入的相关病例。

Both the Andes and Sin Nombre strains can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a condition that begins with flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills but can rapidly progress to lung problems and difficulty breathing. There is no drug that can treat the infection, so doctors can offer only supportive care, which might include oxygen or a heart-lung machine. Getting to a hospital quickly and receiving breathing support can improve the chances of survival.

安第斯毒株与无名毒株均可引发汉坦病毒肺综合征，发病初期表现为发热、寒战等流感样症状，但病情可快速进展为肺部病变和呼吸困难。目前尚无针对该病毒感染的特效药，医生仅能提供支持性治疗，包括包括供氧或使用心肺机。及时就医并接受呼吸支持治疗可提升患者的存活几率。

Different strains of the virus circulate in Europe and Asia, where there are thousands of cases each year, but the lethality rate is lower, between less than 1 percent and 15 percent, depending on the strain. Those versions of the virus primarily affect the kidneys.

欧洲和亚洲也流行着汉坦病毒的其他不同毒株，每年累计报告数千例病例，但病死率更低，依毒株不同在1%以下到15%之间。这些毒株变种主要损害人体肾脏。

But researchers stressed that the average person should not worry about the virus or necessarily change their daily behavior.

但研究人员强调，普通民众无需担心这种病毒，也不必因此改变日常行为。

“There’s really no risk to anyone who is not on that ship,” Dr. Warner said.

沃纳说：“对于不在这艘邮轮上的人来说，完全没有风险。”

It’s very different from the early spread of Covid.

与新冠病毒的早期传播截然不同

Reports of the outbreak might seem similar to the early days of the Covid pandemic, when a mysterious virus was spreading on cruise ships and passengers were being quarantined on board. But experts said that the hantavirus is much more difficult to transmit and has considerably less potential to turn into a pandemic.

关于此次疫情的报道似乎与新冠疫情初期颇为相似，当时一种神秘病毒在邮轮上传播，乘客被隔离在船上。但专家表示，汉坦病毒的传播难度要大得多，演变为全球大流行的可能性也小得多。

“It’s good to be cautious, but there’s no need for concern over a global outbreak,” Dr. Bradfute said.

布拉德富特说：“保持谨慎是好事，但无需担心全球爆发疫情。”

Dr. Emily Abdoler, a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at Michigan Medicine, said that past cases of the virus spreading between humans had not resulted in large outbreaks — “nothing even close to the scale of Covid.”

密歇根大学医学院传染病学临床副教授艾米丽·阿布多勒博士表示，过往的汉坦病毒人际传播病例从未引发大规模疫情，“规模完全无法与新冠相提并论”。

Those at greatest risk can take steps to protect themselves.

高风险人群可采取措施自我防护

Agricultural workers who come into contact with mice and rodent droppings are at increased risk. People cleaning out sheds and garages might also want to be especially careful about mouse and rodent droppings.

频繁接触老鼠及啮齿动物粪便的农业从业者感染风险相对更高。清理棚屋和车库的人员也需格外留意老鼠及啮齿动物的粪便。

You can wear gloves and use a bleach solution or a household cleaner to wet surfaces when cleaning them. Don’t sweep or use a vacuum, which could stir particles into the air that you could inhale. Wearing a well-fitting N95 mask can offer protection against viral particles, Dr. Bradfute said.

清洁时可佩戴手套，用漂白剂溶液或家用清洁剂浸湿待清洁的表面。勿直接清扫或使用吸尘器，以免将可被人体吸入的颗粒物扬起到空气中。布拉德富特称，佩戴贴合良好的N95口罩，可有效防范病毒颗粒。

People who travel to places where the virus is common and visit rural areas or go camping or hiking should take precautions to minimize exposure to potentially infectious materials. The W.H.O. has a fact-sheet that describes where infections are most prevalent.

前往病毒流行地区、到访乡村区域，或是露营、徒步的人士应采取防护措施，最大限度减少接触可能具有传染性的物质。世界卫生组织发布过相关情况说明，列明了汉坦病毒感染最常发生的地区。