美国国家公共电台 NPR--Scientists race to detect new pathogens before they can spark another pandemic

Scientists race to detect new pathogens before they can spark another pandemic

Transcript¹

Disease researchers from South Africa were the first to identify the omicron variant² of the COVID-19 virus. Scientists there are racing³ to detect new pathogens before they can spark another pandemic.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Infectious disease researchers in South Africa were the first to identify the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. Now scientists there are racing to detect new pathogens before they can spark another pandemic. They're drawing on decades of experience dealing⁴ with the AIDS epidemic⁵. As part of a new NPR series called Hidden Viruses, global health correspondent Nurith Aizenman has the story.

TULIO DE OLIVEIRA: We're just going to go in a freezer.

NURITH AIZENMAN, BYLINE⁶: I'm at Tulio de Oliveira's institute, the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation, near Cape⁷ Town, South Africa. And he's taking me to a cold storage room, chilled to 20 degrees below freezing. He calls over his deputy, Yeshnee Naidoo, to lead the way.

DE OLIVEIRA: This is the lab queen.

AIZENMAN: Queen because she's in charge of lab operations.

YESHNEE NAIDOO: Hi. How are you?

AIZENMAN: She pulls hard on the freezer door.

NAIDOO: I need muscle, yeah?

AIZENMAN: They want to point out an important delivery that's just arrived.

NAIDOO: Yeah. This is what we have it in.

AIZENMAN: A plastic box containing 300 samples extracted from cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid was taken from patients a continent away.

DE OLIVEIRA: Very close to the Amazon forest in Colombia.

AIZENMAN: After we scurry⁸ out of the freezer...

DE OLIVEIRA: Oh, it's cold.

AIZENMAN: ...De Oliveira explains that these patients all came to that clinic with high fevers, but the doctors there couldn't figure out what was making them sick.

DE OLIVEIRA: They tried all the diagnostic, and they failed.

AIZENMAN: So now de Oliveira's lab is going to use a cutting-edge process to see if they can figure out what exactly was the virus or bacteria infecting the patients.

DE OLIVEIRA: We do what we call metagenomics sequencing.

AIZENMAN: Metagenomic sequencing essentially⁹ means they run the samples through machines that analyze¹⁰ all the foreign DNA¹¹ in there and then use sophisticated computer programs to identify the genetic¹² code, or sequence, of any organisms in that cerebrospinal fluid.

DE OLIVEIRA: These methods can sequence up to 11,000 known or unknown viruses.

AIZENMAN: You literally¹³...

DE OLIVEIRA: Yeah.

AIZENMAN: ...Just check. You're like, let's run it against what you know.

DE OLIVEIRA: What you know and what you don't know. We can see, is that something new?

AIZENMAN: Because, he says, if it is new, the early warning could be key to preventing those pathogens from sparking another pandemic by giving scientists the jump on creating diagnostics, therapies and vaccines¹⁴ against them.

DE OLIVEIRA: We want to identify them and have the tools to control before they hit you.

AIZENMAN: That's why the health center near the Amazon is just one in a global network of clinics that are forwarding fluid samples from their mystery fever cases. And it's why the fever clinic effort, which began about two years ago, is just one of multiple international virus hunts the lab is involved with, including another project that's just started focusing on places climate change might cause new flare-ups. This lab is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar expansion.

NAIDOO: And then I'll introduce you to our babies.

AIZENMAN: Back outside the freezer room, Naidoo, the lab head, points out some of the new equipment.

NAIDOO: These are the Novaseq 2000s.

AIZENMAN: This is your baby, this machine.

NAIDOO: These two are called the twins.

AIZENMAN: Making this the largest facility for genomic sequencing in all of Africa. Now, this effort is a global collaboration¹⁵ with plenty of partners and funding from wealthy countries and big companies like the diagnostics powerhouse Abbott. And yet, arguably, the most central players are scientists like de Oliveira and Naidoo in the middle- and lower-income Global South countries - South Africa, Brazil, Senegal, India, Thailand. De Oliveira says spotting sudden epidemics¹⁶ is their forte¹⁷. He says, consider the COVID pandemic.

DE OLIVEIRA: One good example was how long it took United States of America to have an effective genomic surveillance network. It took years.

AIZENMAN: By contrast, South Africa set up its COVID surveillance network within months, and it was the first in the world to detect the most threatening variant yet - omicron. Naidoo still remembers how the lab team swung into action at the first sign of it, racing in before dawn to process a final set of samples that would confirm the findings.

NAIDOO: Believe it or not, we were in position at the doorway¹⁸ waiting for the samples to arrive. And...

AIZENMAN: Wait. You were literally at the door?

NAIDOO: Literally at the door. We're like, has it come in yet? I'm like, no, it's not yet. I don't see the courier (laughter).

AIZENMAN: Twenty-four hours later, South Africa was able to alert the whole world. The only other country to detect omicron as fast was Botswana, even though it turned out omicron was already circulating in many other parts of the world, including the U.S. Naidoo says this makes it all the more galling¹⁹ when the rest of the world greets findings by African scientists with skepticism.

NAIDOO: It's a stigma²⁰ that's attached with Africa. It's like, oh, it's from South Africa; I don't think the results are viable²¹. Like, why can't Africa produce the best results? I mean, come on. We can.

AIZENMAN: And de Oliveira says, in fact, compared to the wealthy nations of the Global North, countries of the Global South actually have a leg up.

DE OLIVEIRA: We have more experience for dealing with epidemics in the Global South. It's one of our only scientific advantages.

AIZENMAN: It's why Brazil has some of the foremost experts on mosquito-borne outbreaks, like Zika and chikungunya, why Uganda is so good on viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. In South Africa, the scourge²² has been HIV. To deal with it, de Oliveira helped pioneer the use of genomic surveillance.

DE OLIVEIRA: Very early, yeah. To be specific, probably in 1995. And that's when the field was just starting.

AIZENMAN: In other words, it wasn't a fluke that South Africa stood up their COVID DNA surveillance so fast. They were building on years of prior work. De Oliveira says that included developing methods to minimize the number of samples that clinics would need to send in so that the arrangement would actually be doable for South Africa's already strapped²³ health workers. And yet, de Oliveira says, the burden those health workers face is something many of his Global North colleagues overlook.

DE OLIVEIRA: They come with these great ideas of setting up these really advanced computer systems in the clinic.

AIZENMAN: De Oliveira's response? First, try spending a day at one of our rural clinics.

DE OLIVEIRA: Most of them just burst into tears during the process, and they're like, well, I didn't realize that that clinic would have, like, 500 people in the queue, like, people almost dying, and the doctors didn't have the tools.

AIZENMAN: Such that introducing some complicated sampling program would only make things worse. And so as the world mobilizes to catch future pandemics, de Oliveira has a request - on this one, let the Global South take the lead.

DE OLIVEIRA: Taking advantage the knowledge of the Global South to protect the globe.

AIZENMAN: Because he says that's what's at stake here - protecting the whole globe.

Nurith Aizenman, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUN-EL MUSICIAN'S "TO THE WORLD")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

8 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

11 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

12 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

15 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

16 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

17 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

18 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

19 galling   

adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的

参考例句：

• It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
• The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

20 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

21 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。

22 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

23 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》