VOA英语：新冠肺炎康复者是否会二次感染？
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Can You Get COVID-19 Twice?
新冠肺炎康复者是否会二次感染？
By Anna Matteo
27 July 2020
The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker estimates that over 16 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. It also estimates that nearly 650,000 people have died from the disease, but millions have recovered.
约翰·霍普金斯大学新冠肺炎追踪人员预计全球已有1600万人感染了导致新冠肺炎的冠状病毒。它还估计有将近65万人死于这种疾病，但是数百万人已经康复。
So, a question many people around the world are asking is – can you get it again? In fact, that was among the most-searched questions on Google's website for many weeks in May and June.
因此，世界上很多人都在问，你会再次感染新冠病毒吗？实际上，这是5月和6月多个星期在谷歌网站上搜索最多的问题之一。
Whether or not you can catch COVID-19 again after getting infected once is connected to your body's immune system. Does infection strengthen the body's natural defenses as it does with other pathogens? And if there is an immunity, how long does it last?
你在感染新冠肺炎后是否会再次感染，这跟你身体的免疫系统有关。这种感染是否会像其它病原体一样增强人体的抵抗力？如果人体获得免疫，它能持续多长时间?
Right now, there are no clear answers to these questions.
目前，这些问题尚无明确答案。
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups say they do not yet know how the immune system reacts to COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes the disease. This includes how long the body stays immune to infection from the virus.
美国疾病控制与预防中心以及其它组织表示，他们尚不知道免疫系统会对导致这种疾病的新冠病毒做出何等反应。这其中就包括人体对这种病毒感染维持免疫的时间。
MERS-CoV is a similar virus. They are both coronaviruses. Patients with MERS-CoV are unlikely to be re-infected shortly after they recover. It is not yet known whether patients with COVID-19 will have similar protection.
中东呼吸系统综合症就是一种类似的病毒。它们都属于冠状病毒。中东呼吸系统综合症的患者在康复后不久不容易再次感染。目前尚不清楚新冠肺炎患者是否具有类似的保护作用。
Antibody tests check your blood for antibodies. Experts at the CDC note that such tests may show if you had a past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
抗体测试能检测你的血液中是否存在抗体。美国疾病控制与预防中心的专家指出，这类测试可以显示出你是否曾经感染过会导致新冠肺炎的病毒。
Antibodies are proteins that fight off infections. They can protect you from getting that disease again. In other words, they give you immunity.
抗体是抵抗感染的蛋白质。它们可以防止你再次感染这种疾病。换句话说，它们使你具有免疫力。
However, antibodies are disease specific. For example, measles antibodies will protect you from measles if you are exposed to the disease again. But those antibodies will not protect you from getting mumps, for example, if you are exposed to mumps.
然而，抗体具有疾病特异性。例如，麻疹抗体可以防止你在再次暴露于该疾病时被感染。但是，如果你暴露于腮腺炎，这些抗体将不能让你免于再次感染。
Back in April, the Reuters news agency reported on the situation in South Korea. Several patients there were said to have recovered from COVID-19 but then later tested positive for the virus.
回到四月，路透社报告了韩国的局势。据说韩国有几名患者已经从新冠肺炎中康复，但是后来又对该病毒呈阳性反应。
Experts told Reuters that there were three main possibilities: re-infection, a relapse or inconsistent testing.
专家对路透社表示，这存在三种主要的可能性；再次感染、复发或是检测结果不一致。
A relapse means the virus never really left the patient. Patients think they are better but are not and soon feel sick again.
复发意味着病毒从未真正离开患者。患者认为自己有所好转，但是并未好转，不久后又感到不适。
The worst possibility would be re-infection. This would mean the immune system did not create antibodies to protect it from future infection.
最坏的可能性是再次感染。这意味着免疫系统没有产生抗体来防止未来再次感染。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。
Words in This Story
tracker – n. a device or online tool that shows where someone or something is or the state of something
immune system – n. the system of the body that fights infection and disease and that includes especially the white blood cells and antibodies and the organs that produce them
pathogen – n. medical : something (such as a type of bacteria or a virus) that causes disease
check – v. to inspect, examine, or look at appraisingly or appreciatively —usually used with out or over
specific – adj. relating to a particular person, situation, etc.
expose – v. to subject to risk from a harmful action or condition children exposed to measles
positive – adj. the result from a test that shows that a particular germ, condition, or substance is present
relapse – v. of an illness : to return or become worse after leaving or improving for a period of time
inconsistent – adj. not continuing to happen or develop in the same way
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