双语新闻：致命病毒扩散 沙特为信息公开辩护
As Deadly Virus Spreads, Saudis Defend RoleA SARS-like virus has infected 15 people, nine of whom have died, mostly in Saudi Arabia, worrying some Western scientists who question whether the kingdom is sharing enough critical data on the outbreak.
一种与非典型肺炎(SARS)类似的病毒已经导致15人被感染，其中九人死亡，感染者大多是沙特阿拉伯人。病毒已经引起西方一些科学家的担忧，他们质疑沙特是否充分公开了与这次传染病有关的关键数据。
But a top Saudi Arabia health official rejected those complaints on Tuesday and said the virus posed a low risk of pandemic.
不过，沙特一名高级卫生官员周二否认了上述质疑，并表示，该病毒引发大范围传染病的风险不大。
The disease─similar to the SARS virus that emerged a decade ago that killed nearly 1,000 people─was recently found capable of spreading person-to-person. Of the deaths confirmed in humans since April, six have occurred in Saudi Arabia, including three since February, said the World Health Organization, which has issued a global alert.
这一疾病与10年前导致近1,000人死亡的非典型肺炎病毒相似。新疾病最近被发现能够在人与人之间传播。世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)说，在4月以来证实的死亡病例中，有六起病例发生在沙特阿拉伯，其中包括2月以来的三起死亡病例。世界卫生组织已经就此发出了全球警告。
The latest victim, a 39-year-old Saudi, died March 2 after visiting a farm with goats, camels and sheep outside the Saudi capital, Riyadh, deputy health minister Ziad Memish said in an interview. Saudi families know such suburban farms as istirahas, and countless Saudi families with the means keep such rural homes as weekend retreats.
沙特卫生部副部长麦密什(Ziad Memish)在接受采访时说，最新死于该病毒的是一名39岁的沙特人，他在3月2日死亡，此前曾访问了一个农场。这个农场位于沙特首都利雅得之外的农村，饲养了山羊、骆驼和绵羊。沙特家庭将这样的农场称为istiraha，许多富有的沙特家庭在农村都有这样的一处所在，作为周末的休闲去处。
Two other of those infected, a Saudi and a Qatari, also had visited farms─one with sick goats─shortly before falling ill, Dr. Memish said. Saudi health officials are monitoring the animals, but haven't yet seen enough proof to establish links between the farm animals and the outbreaks, or to call for quarantines, he said.
麦密什博士说，另外两个感染者中，一个是沙特人，一个是卡塔尔人，发病前不久都去过农场，其中一个农场有山羊患病。沙特的卫生官员正在对这些牲畜进行监控，但是还没有发现足够的证据证明农场牲畜与疫病爆发存在联系，或是需要采取隔离措施。
The Saudi health official also resisted calling the outbreak a Saudi one, saying the likely reason eight of the victims have been Saudis is that the kingdom alone had ordered hospitals countrywide to test for the virus among all patients who come to intensive care with severe respiratory problems.
麦密什说，如果其他国家加强检测工作，它们可能也会发现更多病例。国际卫生官员说，另外的病例来自英国、卡塔尔和约旦。
When other countries step up testing, they too will likely see more cases, he said. The other cases were from the U.K., Qatar and Jordan, international health officials say.
麦密什博士说：我们没有轻视这个问题，我们每天都在密切关注，我们认为整个科学界也应该做同样的事。麦密什是沙特的传染病专家，曾经在加拿大接受培训。
While the new coronavirus is of major concern, 'I don't think there's a huge outbreak going on that we're not hearing about,' Dr. Daszak said. Still, 'the more you hear about clusters of cases, the more likely it is to go pandemic.'
达塞克说：尽管新的冠状病毒令人担忧，但我并不认为目前已经发生我们不知道的大范围疫情。不过，新出现的病例越多，越有可能发展成大范围的传染病。
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