Should you be worried about MERS?

The numbers sound scary as cases and deaths of MERS mount daily in South Korea.

目前，韩国的中东呼吸综合症患者人数不断上升，死亡人数每天都在增加，大家似乎都人心惶惶。

People are commuting with face masks in a densely crowded Asian capital, schools are shutting doors and mandatory quarantines are in effect. But what really are the risks and dangers to the general public?

在拥挤的首尔，人人都戴着口罩交流、学校停课、国家启动强制隔离。但中东呼吸综合症患者到底会为大众带来什么隐患和危险呢？

As one official said, South Korea is fighting two battles: MERS and public fear.

据一官员表示，韩国目前不仅要和中东呼吸综合征作斗争，还要应对公众的恐慌心理。

Should I be worried about getting MERS?

我需要担心染上中东呼吸综合症吗？

Not really.

答案是：不用太担心。

"It’s not a very contagious disease," said Dr. Stanley Perlman, one of the authors of a comprehensive MERS review published in the journal Lancet this month. "Personally, people shouldn’t be worried, but I can understand the fear factor."

Stanley Perlman博士本月在医学杂志Lancet上发表了一篇MERS综述，他表示，“中东呼吸综合征传染性并不很高，其实公众完全不必恐慌，不过我能理解这种心理。“

South Koreans are being told to take basic preventative measures like keeping hands clean, covering coughs and avoiding personal contact.

目前韩国要求国民做到基本的防护措施，比如常洗手，咳嗽时要捂嘴，避免与人身体接触等。

Steps to prevent MERS

如何预防MERS

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then dispose of the tissue.

每20分钟用香皂和水洗手。如果没有水和香皂，用含有酒精的洗手液也可。如果咳嗽或打喷嚏，用纸巾捂住口鼻，纸巾要处理掉。

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Avoid personal contact, such as kissing, or sharing cups or eating utensils, with sick people. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects, such as doorknobs.

未洗手时不要用手触碰眼、口、鼻。避免与人身体接触，比如接吻或与病人共用杯子，餐具。经常触碰的地方或物品要进行消毒，比如门把手。

A person with MERS is estimated to infect less than one other person. It’s called a basic reproduction number that estimates the average number of people that a sick person will infect. Compared with the reproduction number for Ebola, (in which one infected person is likely to spread the disease to two other people) or measles (one infected person is likely to to spread the infection to 15 other people), the rate of MERS is low indeed.

据预计，一个中东呼吸综合征病患传染他人人数低于一个。一个病患传染他人的平均人数被称为基本增值数。与埃博拉和麻疹的增值数相比（一个埃博拉病患可能传染2个人，一个麻疹病患会传染15个人），中东呼吸综合征的传染比率还是比较低的。

Shouldn’t growing number of MERS concern us?

MERS感染病患一直增多，我们应该担忧吗？

The MERS count includes people with mild symptoms, and at least one of the confirmed cases has been completely asymptomatic. The growing case count doesn’t mean everyone with MERS is gravely ill. Several patients have been cleared and hundreds have been released from quarantine.

中东呼吸综合症患者里也有症状轻微的，在已确诊的感染者中至少有一名患者完全没有表现出症状。感染人数不断增加并不意味着每个病患病情都非常严重。一些病患已恢复健康，还有数百人已解除隔离。

完成阅读

来源:China Daily 双语版爱语吧作者:孙梦光