緬因州自2017年以來，首例罕見、致命的壁虱傳播病毒

緬因州自2017年以來，首例罕見、致命的壁虱傳播病毒

A Maine resident has been infected with a rare but typically severe tick-borne illness that can cause brain infections and meningitis and, in some cases, lead to death.

緬因州的一名居民感染了一種罕見但典型的嚴重虱子傳播疾病，這種疾病可導致腦部感染和腦膜炎，在某些情況下甚至還會導致死亡。

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a Wednesday news release that the resident, who has not been identified, showed symptoms of human Powassan encephalitis disease — more commonly referred to as Powassan virus — in late June and was hospitalized.

緬因州疾病控制與預防中心(CDC)在周三的新聞稿中宣布，這名未被確認身份的居民在6月下旬出現(xiàn)了人類波瓦桑腦炎(通常稱為波瓦桑病毒)的癥狀，并住院治療。

The state CDC did not say whether or not the resident recovered.

國家疾病預防控制中心沒有說明該居民是否康復。

Powassan virus — which “belongs to a group of viruses that can cause infection of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — is typically spread to humans after they’re bitten by an infected woodchuck or deer tick.

根據(jù)疾病控制和預防中心的說法，波瓦桑病毒“屬于一組能引起大腦(腦炎)或大腦和脊髓周圍膜(腦膜炎)感染的病毒”，通常是被感染土撥鼠咬傷或鹿蜱叮咬后感染。

The federal agency says those who live or work near brushy or woody areas are more likely to be exposed to potentially infected ticks.

聯(lián)邦機構表示，那些生活或工作在灌木叢或樹林附近的人更有可能接觸到潛在感染的虱子。

Most cases of Powassan virus — which was first discovered in Powassan, Ontario in 1958, according to the Maine CDC — have occurred in the northeast and Great Lakes areas of the US.

據(jù)緬因州疾控中心稱，波瓦桑病毒最早于1958年在安大略省的波瓦桑發(fā)現(xiàn)，大多數(shù)病例發(fā)生在美國東北部和五大湖地區(qū)。

Those infected with the virus typically experience fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, seizures and memory loss, per the Maine CDC, which also noted: “long-term neurologic problems may occur.”

根據(jù)緬因州疾病預防控制中心的說法，感染病毒的人通常會出現(xiàn)發(fā)燒、頭痛、嘔吐、虛弱、神志不清、癲癇和失憶等癥狀。該機構還指出:“可能會出現(xiàn)長期的神經(jīng)問題。”

“Symptoms can begin anytime from one week to one month after the tick bite. There is no specific treatment, but people with severe Powassan virus illness often need to be hospitalized,” it added.

“蜱蟲叮咬后一周到一個月的任何時候都可能出現(xiàn)癥狀。目前還沒有具體的治療方法，但是患有嚴重的波瓦桑病毒疾病的人往往需要住院治療。”

Patients typically need support breathing and to treat swelling around the brain, but there is no medicine to treat the virus, nor is there a vaccine to prevent it, and about 10 percent of cases result in death, according to the federal health agency.

根據(jù)聯(lián)邦衛(wèi)生署的數(shù)據(jù)，病人通常需要支持呼吸和治療大腦周圍的腫脹，但是沒有藥物來治療病毒，也沒有疫苗來預防它，大約10%的病例會導致死亡。

Powassan virus is rare, with an average of seven cases reported cases each year in the US. In Maine, 11 cases of Powassan virus have occurred since 2000, state health officials said. It is the first time since 2017 that a person in the state has come down with the illness.

波瓦桑病毒很罕見，美國每年平均報告7例病例。緬因州衛(wèi)生官員說，自2000年以來，緬因州已經(jīng)發(fā)生了11例波瓦桑病毒病例。這是自2017年以來該州第一次有人感染該病毒。