VOA雙語新聞：大腸桿菌 好菌變壞
As a major outbreak of a highly toxic strain of E. coli bacteria continues to sicken residents of Europe, medical experts are racing to find the source.
一種具高度毒性的大腸桿菌造成重大疫情，陸續(xù)使歐洲民眾染病，現(xiàn)在醫(yī)學專家正在追蹤源頭。
E. coli has become a growing public health problem in recent years. The bacteria doesn't usually cause any trouble, says University of Minnesota microbiology professor Michael Sadowski. "E. coli is a normal inhabitant of the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals."
大腸桿菌在最近幾年逐漸形成了公共衛(wèi)生問題。美國明尼蘇達大學的微生物學教授薩道斯基說，大腸桿菌通常不會引起麻煩。他說，“大腸桿菌是溫血動物腸道中的正常居民。”
That means you, me, our livestock and even wild animals are all carrying strains of E. coli around in our guts. The types that cause disease are rare, Sadowski says.
這意思是，你、我和我們的家畜，甚至野生動物的腸子中都有大腸桿菌。薩道斯基說，大腸桿菌會致病的種類很少。
"The majority of E. coli are in fact considered to be harmless. And they carry out various biochemical processes in your intestine and they help you digest food."
他說，“大多數(shù)大腸桿菌實際上都被認為是無害的。而他們在你的腸子里執(zhí)行多種生化過程，幫助你消化食物?！?BR> And the majority have remained relatively harmless until fairly recently, says University of Minnesota food safety professor Francisco Diez. "We didn't have this type of organism before 1982."
明尼蘇達大學食品安全教授迪茲說，直到最近之前，大多數(shù)大腸桿菌相對來說都是無害的。
That's when the first deadly strain of E. coli appeared in hamburger meat in the United States. Before then, Diez says, E. coli wasn't even considered a disease-causing germ.
他說，1982年第一起致命的大腸桿菌病例出現(xiàn)在美國的漢堡肉。他說，在那之前，大腸桿菌甚至不被認為是種致病的細菌。
According to Diez, it is not clear exactly how this new virulence developed. It may have been changes in the bacteria, or changes in the way food is produced or distributed. Whatever the cause, E. coli is now turning up in a growing number of fruits and vegetables including apples, lettuce, and spinach.
迪茲說，還不清楚這種新的毒性是如何發(fā)展出來的。有可能是細菌發(fā)生了變化，或食物生產(chǎn)或分配方式的變化。不管是哪種原因，大腸桿菌出現(xiàn)在包括蘋果、萵苣、菠菜等越來越多的蔬菜水果中。
For a germ that was first found in meat, it seems like a long way to the produce aisle. But Diez says there is a connection.
對于一種最初是在肉里發(fā)現(xiàn)的細菌，這距離農(nóng)產(chǎn)品似乎是很遙遠的。但迪茲說，這中間是有關聯(lián)的。
"We've seen an increase in cases of produce-associated outbreaks, but ultimately the source is cattle."
他說，“我們看到越來越多農(nóng)產(chǎn)品相關的疫情爆發(fā)，但最終的源頭都是牛?！?BR> He says cattle-manure fertilizer that has not been well composted may still carry live bacteria from the animals’ gut. Or manure may contaminate irrigation water. It could also be on the hands of someone picking or sorting the produce. Add storage, transportation, and preparation as other places between the farm and the fork where food can become contaminated with the bacteria.
他說，牛糞肥料如果沒被妥善堆肥，就可能還帶有動物腸子里活的細菌。或是肥料可能污染了灌溉水。或是肥料可能在一些摘取或挑選農(nóng)產(chǎn)品的人的手上。還有在農(nóng)場和手中叉子間食物可能被細菌感染的其他地方，像儲藏、運輸、預備等。
That's part of why tracing an outbreak to its source is so difficult. In Europe, officials originally blamed Spanish-grown cucumbers, but now they are not so sure. Other suspects include tomatoes and lettuce.
這是很難追蹤疫情源頭的原因之一。在歐洲，官員最初把矛頭指向西班牙的黃瓜，但現(xiàn)在他們不能很確定。其他可疑的還有西紅柿和萵苣。
The problem is, those are all common salad ingredients.
美國疾病管制與預防中心的食物病源部門主任布萊登提到，問題是，那些都是很普遍的沙拉成分。
"It's hard to find enough people that only ate one, and only ate one once in the time period before their infection," says Christopher Braden, head of the foodborne disease section at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." They're commonly eaten. They're commonly eaten together. So to try to tease one apart as to which one is the culprit can be difficult."
他說，“很難找到足夠的人，他們在感染前只吃其中一種，和只吃一次。我們很常吃這些食物，很常一起吃。所以想把將一種食物和病源食物分開很難?！?BR> Spain maintains that its cucumbers have been falsely accused. Spanish farmers are losing huge amounts of money, and they are furious.
西班牙說，它的黃瓜遭到了不實指控。農(nóng)民蒙受了巨大的損失，他們非常憤怒。
The CDC was in a similar position in 2008 when it blamed tomatoes for a salmonella outbreak that ultimately was pinned on peppers.
美國疾病管制與預防中心在2008年也遭遇類似的處境。當時它將沙門氏菌疫情歸咎于西紅柿，但最后矛頭指向青椒。
Braden says it can be a hard decision to make when you have preliminary information that points to a suspect. "And in the meantime, people are getting ill and possibly dying in large numbers. Sometimes there's a real balancing act between being fast and being right. Often times it's really hard to do both."
布萊登說，當你有指向可疑食物的初步資料時，這會是個困難的決定。他說，“而同時，人們?nèi)旧狭瞬?，可能有很多人死亡。有時候能在迅速和正確中取得真正的平衡。但通常真的很難兩者兼顧?！?BR> He adds that, if their first suspicions proved correct, they could also be criticized if they did not act.
他補充說，就算他們第一個的猜測被證實無誤，他們也可能被批評沒有作出反應。
There are still a lot of unknowns about the current European outbreak, and it will likely be some time before they are all resolved.
歐洲目前的疫情還有很多未知的地方，在全都明朗化前可能還要一段時間。
In the meantime, the advice remains the same: wash your hands after using the toilet, and before preparing food and eating, and wash counters and utensils that come in contact with raw meat.
在此同時，忠告還是一樣的：在如廁后和準備食物和吃飯前洗手。清洗接觸生肉的臺面和餐具。
And if you are concerned about the cleanliness of raw vegetables, cook them well.
如果擔心生菜的清潔，那就煮熟。
As a major outbreak of a highly toxic strain of E. coli bacteria continues to sicken residents of Europe, medical experts are racing to find the source.
一種具高度毒性的大腸桿菌造成重大疫情，陸續(xù)使歐洲民眾染病，現(xiàn)在醫(yī)學專家正在追蹤源頭。
E. coli has become a growing public health problem in recent years. The bacteria doesn't usually cause any trouble, says University of Minnesota microbiology professor Michael Sadowski. "E. coli is a normal inhabitant of the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals."
大腸桿菌在最近幾年逐漸形成了公共衛(wèi)生問題。美國明尼蘇達大學的微生物學教授薩道斯基說，大腸桿菌通常不會引起麻煩。他說，“大腸桿菌是溫血動物腸道中的正常居民。”
That means you, me, our livestock and even wild animals are all carrying strains of E. coli around in our guts. The types that cause disease are rare, Sadowski says.
這意思是，你、我和我們的家畜，甚至野生動物的腸子中都有大腸桿菌。薩道斯基說，大腸桿菌會致病的種類很少。
"The majority of E. coli are in fact considered to be harmless. And they carry out various biochemical processes in your intestine and they help you digest food."
他說，“大多數(shù)大腸桿菌實際上都被認為是無害的。而他們在你的腸子里執(zhí)行多種生化過程，幫助你消化食物?！?BR> And the majority have remained relatively harmless until fairly recently, says University of Minnesota food safety professor Francisco Diez. "We didn't have this type of organism before 1982."
明尼蘇達大學食品安全教授迪茲說，直到最近之前，大多數(shù)大腸桿菌相對來說都是無害的。
That's when the first deadly strain of E. coli appeared in hamburger meat in the United States. Before then, Diez says, E. coli wasn't even considered a disease-causing germ.
他說，1982年第一起致命的大腸桿菌病例出現(xiàn)在美國的漢堡肉。他說，在那之前，大腸桿菌甚至不被認為是種致病的細菌。
According to Diez, it is not clear exactly how this new virulence developed. It may have been changes in the bacteria, or changes in the way food is produced or distributed. Whatever the cause, E. coli is now turning up in a growing number of fruits and vegetables including apples, lettuce, and spinach.
迪茲說，還不清楚這種新的毒性是如何發(fā)展出來的。有可能是細菌發(fā)生了變化，或食物生產(chǎn)或分配方式的變化。不管是哪種原因，大腸桿菌出現(xiàn)在包括蘋果、萵苣、菠菜等越來越多的蔬菜水果中。
For a germ that was first found in meat, it seems like a long way to the produce aisle. But Diez says there is a connection.
對于一種最初是在肉里發(fā)現(xiàn)的細菌，這距離農(nóng)產(chǎn)品似乎是很遙遠的。但迪茲說，這中間是有關聯(lián)的。
"We've seen an increase in cases of produce-associated outbreaks, but ultimately the source is cattle."
他說，“我們看到越來越多農(nóng)產(chǎn)品相關的疫情爆發(fā)，但最終的源頭都是牛?！?BR> He says cattle-manure fertilizer that has not been well composted may still carry live bacteria from the animals’ gut. Or manure may contaminate irrigation water. It could also be on the hands of someone picking or sorting the produce. Add storage, transportation, and preparation as other places between the farm and the fork where food can become contaminated with the bacteria.
他說，牛糞肥料如果沒被妥善堆肥，就可能還帶有動物腸子里活的細菌。或是肥料可能污染了灌溉水。或是肥料可能在一些摘取或挑選農(nóng)產(chǎn)品的人的手上。還有在農(nóng)場和手中叉子間食物可能被細菌感染的其他地方，像儲藏、運輸、預備等。
That's part of why tracing an outbreak to its source is so difficult. In Europe, officials originally blamed Spanish-grown cucumbers, but now they are not so sure. Other suspects include tomatoes and lettuce.
這是很難追蹤疫情源頭的原因之一。在歐洲，官員最初把矛頭指向西班牙的黃瓜，但現(xiàn)在他們不能很確定。其他可疑的還有西紅柿和萵苣。
The problem is, those are all common salad ingredients.
美國疾病管制與預防中心的食物病源部門主任布萊登提到，問題是，那些都是很普遍的沙拉成分。
"It's hard to find enough people that only ate one, and only ate one once in the time period before their infection," says Christopher Braden, head of the foodborne disease section at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." They're commonly eaten. They're commonly eaten together. So to try to tease one apart as to which one is the culprit can be difficult."
他說，“很難找到足夠的人，他們在感染前只吃其中一種，和只吃一次。我們很常吃這些食物，很常一起吃。所以想把將一種食物和病源食物分開很難?！?BR> Spain maintains that its cucumbers have been falsely accused. Spanish farmers are losing huge amounts of money, and they are furious.
西班牙說，它的黃瓜遭到了不實指控。農(nóng)民蒙受了巨大的損失，他們非常憤怒。
The CDC was in a similar position in 2008 when it blamed tomatoes for a salmonella outbreak that ultimately was pinned on peppers.
美國疾病管制與預防中心在2008年也遭遇類似的處境。當時它將沙門氏菌疫情歸咎于西紅柿，但最后矛頭指向青椒。
Braden says it can be a hard decision to make when you have preliminary information that points to a suspect. "And in the meantime, people are getting ill and possibly dying in large numbers. Sometimes there's a real balancing act between being fast and being right. Often times it's really hard to do both."
布萊登說，當你有指向可疑食物的初步資料時，這會是個困難的決定。他說，“而同時，人們?nèi)旧狭瞬?，可能有很多人死亡。有時候能在迅速和正確中取得真正的平衡。但通常真的很難兩者兼顧?！?BR> He adds that, if their first suspicions proved correct, they could also be criticized if they did not act.
他補充說，就算他們第一個的猜測被證實無誤，他們也可能被批評沒有作出反應。
There are still a lot of unknowns about the current European outbreak, and it will likely be some time before they are all resolved.
歐洲目前的疫情還有很多未知的地方，在全都明朗化前可能還要一段時間。
In the meantime, the advice remains the same: wash your hands after using the toilet, and before preparing food and eating, and wash counters and utensils that come in contact with raw meat.
在此同時，忠告還是一樣的：在如廁后和準備食物和吃飯前洗手。清洗接觸生肉的臺面和餐具。
And if you are concerned about the cleanliness of raw vegetables, cook them well.
如果擔心生菜的清潔，那就煮熟。