中国拒绝向美国提供H7N9禽流感病毒样本
一年多以来，中国政府一直将一种进化迅速的禽流感病毒样本扣下，不交给美国——据联邦卫生官员表示，美国需要该样本来研发疫苗和治疗方法。
Despite persistent requests from government officials and research institutions, China has not provided samples of the dangerous virus, a type of bird flu called H7N9. In the past, such exchanges have been mostly routine under rules established by the World Health Organization.
尽管政府官员和研究机构不断提出要求，但中国一直没有提供这种名为H7N9的禽流感危险病毒样本。在过去，这样的交流一直都按照世界卫生组织的规定定期进行。
Now, as the United States and China spar over trade, some scientists worry that the vital exchange of medical supplies and information could slow, hampering preparedness for the next biological threat.
如今，随着美中两国就贸易争端不断，一些科学家担忧此类重要的医疗用品及信息交流可能放慢，阻碍对下一次生物威胁的准备。
The scenario is “unlike shortages in aluminum and soybeans,” said Dr. Michael Callahan, an infectious disease specialist at Harvard Medical School.
这种情况“不同于铝和大豆短缺”，哈佛医学院传染病专家迈克尔·卡拉汉(Michael Callahan)博士表示。
“Jeopardizing U.S. access to foreign pathogens and therapies to counter them undermines our nation’s ability to protect against infections which can spread globally within days.”
“妨碍美国获得外国病原体，研究出对抗病毒的治疗方法，会破坏我国保护自己不受那些能在数天内迅速传播全球的感染的能力。”
Experts concur that the world’s next global pandemic will likely come from a repeat offender: the flu. The H7N9 virus is one candidate.
专家一致认为，世界上下一次全球流行性疾病很可能会源自一个“惯犯”：流感。H7N9病毒是可能性之一。
Since taking root in China in 2013, the virus has spread through poultry farms, evolving into a highly pathogenic strain that can infect humans. It has killed 40 percent of its victims.
自2013年在中国扎根后，这种病毒通过家禽饲养场进行传播，进化成了一种高度致病菌株，能传染人类。这种病毒已经导致40%被感染者死亡。
If this strain were to become highly contagious among humans, seasonal flu vaccines would provide little to no protection. Americans have virtually no immunity.
如果这种菌株在人群中变得高度易传染，季节性流感疫苗将提供不了多少保护作用。美国人基本上对此毫无免疫力。
“Pandemic influenza spreads faster than anything else,” said Rick A. Bright, the director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees vaccine development. “There’s nothing to hold it back or slow it down. Every minute counts.”
“大流行性流感比其他任何疾病传播得都要快，”美国卫生与公众服务部(Department of Health and Human Services)下属机构、监管疫苗研发的生物医学高级研究和发展局(Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority)局长里克·A·布莱特(Rick A. Bright)说。“不存在要阻止或放慢进度的理由。每一分钟都很重要。”
Under an agreement established by the World Health Organization, participating countries must transfer influenza samples with pandemic potential to designated research centers “in a timely manner.”
根据世界卫生组织的一项协议，成员国必须“及时”将存在流行病可能的流感样本转移至指定研究中心。
That process — involving paperwork, approval through several agencies and a licensed carrier — normally takes several months, according to Dr. Larry Kerr, the director of pandemics and emerging threats at the Department of Health and Human Services.
根据拉里·科尔(Larry Kerr)博士说，这一过程——牵涉文件、通过多个机构的批准以及一个持有执照的运送方——通常需要几个月。科尔博士是卫生与公众服务部流行病及新兴威胁主任。
But more than one year after a devastating wave of H7N9 infections in Asia — 766 cases were reported, almost all in China — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still waiting for several viral samples, the National Security Council and the W.H.O. confirmed.
但在亚洲出现一波致命H7N9感染一年多的时间里——上报766例，几乎都是在中国——美国疾病控制和预防中心(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)仍在等待多份病毒样本，此事得到了国家安全委员会(National Security Council)和世卫组织的确认。
Scientists at the Department of Agriculture have had such difficulty obtaining flu samples from China that they have stopped requesting them altogether, according to a government official who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.
据一名政府官员表示，农业部科学家在从中国获取流感样本时也遇到过此类困难，因此他们不再要求中国提供了。由于没有获得讨论此事的授权，这名官员要求匿名。
At least four research institutions have relied upon a small group of H7N9 samples from cases in Taiwan and Hong Kong. (All four asked not to be identified for fear of further straining ties.)
至少有四家研究机构依赖台湾和香港的一小批H7N9样本。(由于担心关系进一步紧张，这四个机构都要求不透露名字。)
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention also did not reply to inquiries regarding the transfer.
中国驻华盛顿大使馆没有回复多次置评请求。中国疾病预防控制中心也没有回复有关转移的询问。
When the H7N9 virus first appeared in China, researchers say the Chinese government at first provided timely information. But communication has gradually worsened.
当H7N9病毒首次出现在中国时，研究人员说，中国政府起初提供了及时的信息。但沟通逐渐恶化。
Yet a sudden spike in infections during the 2016-2017 outbreak wave demands intense research, said scientists aiming to understand the virus’ evolution.
然而，2016-2017年病毒爆发期间，感染突然激增，关注该病毒进化的科学家称，这需要进行密集研究。
Recent trade tensions could worsen the problem.
最近的贸易紧张局势可能会令这一问题恶化。
The Office of the United States Trade Representative in April released a proposed list of products to be targeted for tariffs — including pharmaceutical products such as vaccines, medicines and medical devices.
美国贸易代表办公室于4月发布了一份拟议的关税产品清单，其中包括疫苗、药品和医疗器械等医药产品。
So far, none of those medical products have landed on the final tariff lists. But lower-level trade negotiations with China concluded on Thursday with few signs of progress, increasing the likelihood of additional tariffs.
到目前为止，这些医疗产品没有进入最终的关税清单。但与中国的低级别贸易于谈判周四结束，几乎没有进展的迹象，这增加了额外关税的可能性。
The United States relies on China not only for H7N9 influenza samples but for medical supplies, such as plastic drip mechanisms for intravenous saline, as well as ingredients for certain oncology and anesthesia drugs. Some of these are delivered through a just-in-time production model; there are no stockpiles, which could prove dangerous if the supply was disrupted, health officials said.
美国不仅依赖中国的H7N9流感样本，还依赖中国的医疗用品，如静脉注射生理盐水的塑料滴注装置，以及某些肿瘤和麻醉药物的成分。其中一些是通过即时制生产模式提供的;卫生官员说，在没有库存储备的情况下，如果供应中断，可能造成危险。
Scientists believe top commerce officials in both governments view the viral samples much like any other laboratory product, and may be unfamiliar with their vital role in global security.
科学家认为，两国政府的顶级商务官员都把病毒样本看得和其他实验室产品一样，而且可能不熟悉它们在全球安全中的重要作用。
“Countries don’t own their viral samples any more than they own the birds in their skies,” said Andrew C. Weber, who oversaw biological defense programs at the Pentagon during the Obama administration.
“病毒样本不归各国所拥有，就像空中的鸟类不归各国所有一样，”奥巴马政府期间负责监督五角大楼生物防御项目的安德鲁·C·韦伯(Andrew C. Weber)说。
“Given that this flu virus is a potential threat to humanity, not sharing it immediately with the global network of W.H.O. laboratories like C.D.C. is scandalous. Many could die needlessly if China denies international access to samples.”
“鉴于这种流感病毒是对人类的潜在威胁，不立即将它们与世界卫生组织全球实验室网络分享，比如C.D.C.，是可耻的。如果中国拒绝国际上获取这些样品，许多人可能会不必要地死去。”
For over a decade, epidemiological data and samples have been used as trade war pawns.
十多年来，流行病学数据和样本已被用作贸易战中的武器。
China hid the 2002 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, for four months and then kept the findings of its research private. Some provinces withheld information about cases even from the central government in Beijing.
2002年，中国将其严重急性呼吸系统综合征(SARS)的爆发隐藏了四个月，然后将研究结果保密。一些省份甚至对北京中央政府隐瞒相关病例的信息。
In 2005, Chinese authorities insisted an H5N1 influenza outbreak was contained, contradicting University of Hong Kong scientists who offered evidence that it was expanding. Those authorities hesitated to share viral samples from infected wild birds with the international community, concealing the scope to avoid a hit to their vast poultry industry.
2005年，中国当局坚称H5N1流感疫情已经得到了控制，这与香港大学科学家的结论相矛盾，后者提供的证据表明它正在扩大。中国官方对同国际社会分享感染野生鸟类病毒样本犹豫不决，隐瞒病毒传播范围，以避免对其庞大的家禽业造成打击。
Indonesia followed suit, refusing in 2007 to share specimens of H5N1 with the United States and United Kingdom, arguing that the countries would use the samples to develop a vaccine that Indonesians could not afford.
印度尼西亚也效仿中国，于2007年拒绝与美国和英国分享H5N1样本，并声称这些国家将使用这些样本来开发一种印尼人无法负担的疫苗。
Those episodes led to the 2011 development of the W.H.O.’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, which aims to promote sample exchanges as well as developing countries’ access to vaccines.
这些事件促成了2011年W.H.O.大流行性流感防范框架的发展，该框架旨在促进样本交换，以及帮助发展中国家获得疫苗。
But for countries like China, bearing the burden of a novel virus is paradoxical. Outbreaks are expensive — the wave of H7N9 infections in 2013 alone cost China more than $6 billion, according to the United Nations — but they can provide a head-start in developing valuable treatments.
但对于像中国这样的国家来说，承担新型病毒的负担是矛盾的。流感爆发的代价很高——根据联合国的数据，仅2013年的H7N9感染就给中国造成了超过60亿美元的损失——但它们可以为开发有价值的治疗提供先机。
“In a sense, China has made lemonade from lemons — converting the problem of global infectious disease threats into lifesaving and valuable commodities,” Dr. Callahan said. “从某种意义上说，中国已经用柠檬做出了柠檬水——将全球传染病威胁问题转化为救命和有价值的商品，”卡拉汉说。
And now, as the H7N9 virus evolves, United States authorities worry that the Chinese have obfuscated the scale and features of this outbreak.
现在，随着H7N9病毒的演变，美国当局担心中国人并不清楚这次疫情的规模和特征。
The Chinese government has refused to share clinical data from infected patients, according to scientists, and claims to have all but eradicated H7N9 through a single poultry vaccination campaign.
据科学家称，中国政府拒绝分享受感染患者的临床数据，并声称通过单一家禽疫苗接种活动几乎完全消灭了H7N9。
“Influenza is going to do what it does best, which is mutate,” Dr. Kerr said.
“流感会做它最擅长的事情——变异，”克尔博士说。
