VOA慢速英语：实验性的Zika疫苗开始临床试验

Experimental Zika Vaccine Clinical Testing Begins

实验性的Zika疫苗开始临床试验

The United States government has begun the first clinical testing of an experimental vaccine designed to guard against Zika virus.

美国政府已经对旨在防御Zika病毒的实验性疫苗进行临床试验。

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases made the announcement earlier this week.

本周，国家过敏症和传染病研究所宣布了该消息。

The experimental vaccine has already been tested in animals.

这种实验性疫苗已经在动物中进行了测试。

Anthony Fauci, the institute’s director, said on Wednesday that investigators should know soon whether the vaccine is safe for use in human beings. He said the first human tests involve 40 human volunteers in the U.S.

本周三，安托尼.福奇，该研究所主任说：研究人员应该会很快清楚疫苗对于人类是否安全。首次人体试验包含了40名人类自愿者。

“If we get a good immune response and there are no safety red flags by the end of December 2016, we should know if it’s okay to move on to phase II.” He said the second phase could begin early next year.

“如果取得了良好的免疫反应，并且如果在2016年11月底之前没有出现危险信号，我们应该肯定疫苗是安全的，可以进行第二步。”他说：第二步预期明天年初开始。

Those trials will be larger studies, involving more volunteers. They would be performed in countries where Zika has spread. There, researchers would look not only at the safety of the experimental vaccine, but its effectiveness in fighting infection.

这些试验将会是巨大的研究课题，它需要大量的志愿者。这些试验需要在Zika病毒传播的国家进行实验。在那，研究人员不仅可以观察到实验性疫苗的安全性，同样可以观察到其对抗感染的效果。

Infected mosquitoes can pass the virus to people. It can also be passed through sexual contact.

感染的蚊虫可以将病毒传染给人类。Zika病毒也可以通过性接触传播。

Zika usually causes minor problems in healthy people. But there is a real danger if an infected insect bites a pregnant woman. The infection could spread to the fetus she is carrying.

Zika通常会导致微小的健康问题。但是，如果感染病毒的昆虫叮咬了孕妇却是十分危险的。病毒会传播给她的胎儿。

If infected with the virus, women can give birth to babies with a severe condition known as microcephaly. The heads and brains of those babies are unusually small. Microcephaly can cause many mental and physical problems and even death.

如果感染了该Zika病毒，妈妈会生出头小畸形的婴儿。这样的婴儿的孩子的头部和大脑异常之小。头小畸形能够导致许多身心问题，甚至导致婴儿死亡。

At first, the vaccine’s main target will be women of the age when many women give birth. Researchers would also be looking to prevent the disease in the general adult population.

首先，疫苗的主要目标人群是适龄的适育妇女。研究人员也期望能够使普通人远离Zika病毒。

New technique

新技术

The vaccine was developed with a relatively new technology. It was scientifically engineered to contain a small piece of DNA from the virus. DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains the biological commands for Zika. The piece is so small that it is not infectious. But it is big enough to produce a reaction from the body’s natural defenses for fighting disease.

疫苗采用了一种相对较新的技术开发。该技术经过科学的设计，将一小块含有该病毒的DNA纳入疫苗。DNA是脱氧核糖核酸的简写，其中包括了Zika的生物指令。这一小块DNA太小了以至于它不具传染性。但是这一小块DNA却又是足够大，能够使人类的自然免疫系统产生反应。

Fauci said the DNA method makes it easy to provide the vaccine quickly. “We cannot afford to delay the development of a safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection,” he added.

福奇说：DNA技术让快速生产疫苗变得简单。他补充说：“我们不能够拖延这种安全有效的疫苗开发，以防治Zika病毒”

Zika infections have been reported in 50 countries and territories. Most cases are in Central and South America and the Caribbean. This week, U.S. officials announced that a number of people in the state of Florida have been infected. They said all the infections resulted from infected mosquitoes.

据报道，Zika病毒已经在近50个国家传播。大部分发生在美国中部和南部以及加勒比海流域。本周，美国官方发表声明：佛罗里达州的许多人已经感染了Zika病毒。他们说：所有的Zika病毒感染都是由被感染的蚊虫导致的。

I’m Anne Ball.

安妮.鲍尔报道.