埃博拉康复者眼球惊现病毒

 　　WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Ebola virus can persist within the eyeballs for months after a patient recovers from the potentially deadly disease, researchers have found.

　　A report released this week by the U.S. journal New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) described a case in which Ebola was present in the eye's aqueous humor -- the clear fluid in the front of the eye, between the lens and the cornea -- 10 weeks after the virus was cleared from the patient's blood.

　　Despite the presence of Ebola in the eye, the researcher were quick to note that samples from the patient's tears and conjunctiva, the surface of the eye and eyelids¹, tested negative for the virus, indicating that casual contact with Ebola survivors² carries no risk.

　　The patient, identified by U.S. media as 43-year-old Ian Crozier, was diagnosed with Ebola in September, while working in an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone as a doctor for the World Health Organization.

　　Ebola may persist in survivors eyeballs for months: <a href=http://www.hxen.com target=_blank class=infotextkey>study</a>

　　He was then transported to the United States and treated at Emory University Hospital's Serious Communicable Disease Unit for 40 days, including 12 days of mechanical ventilation and 24 days of renal replacement³ therapy.

　　After his blood and urine tested negative for the virus, Crozier was discharged home. A semen sample obtained on the day of discharge, however, tested positive, so he was advised to abstain⁴ from sex or to use condoms for at least three months, according to the NEJM report.

　　Shortly after discharge, Crozier found he had new symptoms, including low back pain. Two months later, he returned to the same hospital with an inflammation called uveitis and increased pressure in his left eye. The resulting swelling⁵ led to reduced vision, and surprisingly, the eye's color changed from blue to green.

　　So, his doctors stuck a needle in his eye and obtained an aqueous humor sample, which tested positive for the Ebola virus.

　　"It felt almost personal that the virus could be in my eye without me knowing it," Crozier told the New York Times.

　　Data on eye complications among survivors in the current outbreak are limited. Although 40 percent of participants in a recent survey of 85 Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone reported having "eye problems," the incidence of uveitis in this group was unknown, the NEJM report said.

　　Several studies of prior outbreaks, however, showed that Ebola infections often manifest in the eyes and can impact vision and cause blindness long after a systemic infection has cleared.

　　One study on survivors of the 1995 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that three of 20 survivors later developed uveitis, which was marked by eye pain, light sensitivity, reduced vision and excessive tearing.

　　Lead author Steven Yeh, an ophthalmologist at the Emory Eye Center, believed that surveillance for the development of eye disease in the post-Ebola period is needed.

　　"The presence of viable⁶ Ebola virus in the eye could mean that other Ebola survivors may also be at risk for the development of uveitis," he said in a statement.

　　"The thousands of Ebola survivors in West Africa and health care workers in their home countries will need to be monitored for eye disease in the post-Ebola period," Yeh said.

　　The findings also pointed⁷ to a need for infection control precautions when Ebola survivors underwent invasive procedures involving the eyes, they said.

　　As for Crozier, he has experienced visual recovery following therapy for the uveitis. His eye color also returned to normal, but why his eye changed color is still a mystery.

1 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

4 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

5 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

6 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。