2022年11月07日 VOA慢速英语：抗体药物被测试为抗疟疾的新工具

 

A new study carried out in the West African nation of Mali found that an experimental drug protected adults against malaria for at least six months. The one-dose drug is the latest possible treatment for the disease spread by mosquitos.
在西非国家马里进行的一项新研究发现，一种实验性药物可以保护成年人免受疟疾的侵害至少六个月。这种单剂药物是治疗蚊子传播疾病的最新可能疗法。
 
Malaria killed more than 620,000 people in 2020 and sickened 241 million. They were mainly children under the age of 5 in Africa.
2020 年，疟疾导致超过 620,000 人死亡，2.41 亿人患病。他们主要是非洲 5 岁以下的儿童。
 
The World Health Organization is releasing the first malaria vaccine for children. But it is just 30 percent effective and requires four doses.
世界卫生组织正在为儿童发布第一种疟疾疫苗。但它只有 30% 有效，需要四剂。
 
The new study tested a very different idea. The drug gives people a large dose of lab-made malaria-fighting antibodies. The vaccine depends on the immune system to make enough of those same infection-blockers after vaccination.
这项新研究测试了一个非常不同的想法。该药物为人们提供大剂量的实验室制造的抗疟疾抗体。疫苗依赖于免疫系统在接种疫苗后制造足够的相同感染阻断剂。
 
Dr. Kassoum Kayentao is with the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies in Bamako, Mali. He helped lead the study in two small villages in Mali. He said the "available vaccine doesn't protect enough people."
Kassoum Kayentao 博士在马里巴马科的科学、技术和技术大学工作。他帮助领导了马里两个小村庄的研究。他说，“现有的疫苗并不能保护足够多的人。”
 
During malaria season in some places in Mali, people are bitten by infected mosquitoes on an average of twice a day.
在马里一些地方的疟疾季节，人们平均每天被感染的蚊子叮咬两次。
 
The experimental antibody was created by researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It is given intravenously, or directly into the veins.
实验性抗体由美国国立卫生研究院的研究人员创建。它是静脉内给药，或直接进入静脉。
 
The drug would be difficult to release to a large amount of people. But scientists are also testing a shot version of the treatment, which would be easier to give out.
这种药物很难释放给大量人群。但科学家们也在测试这种治疗的注射版本，这会更容易发出。
 
The U.S. government research was published Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine and was presented at a medical meeting in Seattle.
美国政府的研究周一发表在《新英格兰医学杂志》上，并在西雅图的一次医学会议上发表。
 
The antibody works by breaking the life cycle of the parasite, which is spread through mosquito bites. It targets parasites early before they enter the liver, where they can grow and multiply. The drug was created from an antibody taken from a volunteer who received a malaria vaccine.
抗体通过打破寄生虫的生命周期起作用，寄生虫通过蚊虫叮咬传播。它在寄生虫进入肝脏之前及早将其作为目标，在那里它们可以生长和繁殖。这种药物是从一名接受疟疾疫苗的志愿者身上提取的抗体制成的。
 
The research involved 330 adults in Mali. The study participants got either one of two different antibody doses or a placebo – a substance given to a patient like a drug but has no physical effect on the patient. All participants were tested for malaria infection every two weeks for 24 weeks. Anyone who got sick was treated.
该研究涉及马里的 330 名成年人。研究参与者获得了两种不同抗体剂量中的一种或安慰剂——一种像药物一样给予患者的物质，但对患者没有身体影响。所有参与者每两周接受一次疟疾感染检测，持续 24 周。任何生病的人都得到了治疗。
 
Infections were found by blood test in 20 people who got the higher dose. Infections were found in 39 people who got the lower dose. Eighty-six people who got the placebo became infected during the study period.
在接受更高剂量的 20 人中通过血液检测发现感染。在接受较低剂量的 39 人中发现了感染。86 名服用安慰剂的人在研究期间被感染。
 
The higher dose was 88 percent effective, compared to the placebo. The lower dose was 75 percent effective.
与安慰剂相比，较高剂量的有效率为 88%。较低剂量的有效率为 75%。
 
Protection might last during the several months of malaria season.
保护可能会持续几个月的疟疾季节。
 
The cost is not yet known. But one estimate suggests lab-made antibodies could be given for just $5 per child per malaria season.
费用尚不清楚。但一项估计表明，每个疟疾季节每名儿童只需 5 美元即可提供实验室制造的抗体。
 
Dr. Johanna Daily is with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She was not involved in the study. She said lab-made antibodies are used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.
Johanna Daily 博士在纽约的阿尔伯特爱因斯坦医学院工作。她没有参与这项研究。她说，实验室制造的抗体用于治疗癌症、自身免疫性疾病和 COVID-19。
 
"The good news is now we have another, immune-based therapy to try to control malaria," she said.
“好消息是现在我们有了另一种基于免疫的疗法来控制疟疾，”她说。