《那些古怪又讓人憂心的問題》第40期:普通感冒(3)
If all humans were isolated from one another, the St. Kilda scenario would play out on a species-wide scale. After a week or two, our colds would run their course, and healthy immune systems would have plenty of time to clear the viruses.
Unfortunately, there's one catch, and it's enough to unravel the whole plan: We don't all have healthy immune systems.
但不幸的是，有一個陷阱足以毀掉這個計劃：並不是所有人都擁有健康的免疫系統。In most people, rhinoviruses are fully cleared from the body within about ten days. The story is different for those with severely weakened immune systems. In transplant patients, for example, whose immune systems have been artificially suppressed, common infections-including rhinoviruses-can linger for weeks, months, or conceivably years.
在絕大多數人體內，鼻病毒會在大約10天內被清除乾淨，但對於那些免疫力系統嚴重受損的人來說可就不是這樣了。比如說接受器官移植的患者的免疫系統被人爲地抑制，普通的感染——包括鼻病毒——能夠持續數週、數月甚至數年。
This small group of immunocompromised people would serve as safe havens for rhinoviruses. The hope of eradicating them is slim; they would need to survive in only a few hosts in order to sweep out and retake the world.
這些免疫功能不健全的人會成爲鼻病毒的安全樂園。想要徹底消除它們幾乎是不可能的事情，這些鼻病毒只需再感染幾個宿主就能再度爆發，感染全世界。In addition to probably causing the collapse of civilization, Sarah's plan wouldn't eradicate rhinoviruses.9 However, this might be for the best!
不但我們的文明極有可能會因此崩塌，薩拉的計劃也不一定能夠消滅鼻病毒，而且這可能還是件好事！While colds are no fun, their absence might be worse. In his book A Planet of Viruses, author Carl Zimmer says that children who aren't exposed to rhinoviruses have more immune disorders as adults. It's possible that these mild infections serve to train and calibrate our immune systems.
雖然得感冒一點都不好玩，但沒有感冒的世界會變得更糟。卡爾•齊默在他的新書《病毒星球》中聲稱，和成年人相比，沒有接觸過鼻病毒的兒童更容易產生免疫紊亂。一種可能的解釋是像這樣溫和的感染事件會起到鍛鍊並校準免疫系統的作用。On the other hand, colds suck. And in addition to being unpleasant, some research says infections by these viruses also weaken our immune systems directly and can open us up to further infections.
但從另一方面來說，得感冒感覺太糟了。除此之外，一些研究表示由這些病毒引起的感染會削弱我們的免疫系統，爲進一步的感染敞開大門。All in all, I wouldn't stand in the middle of a desert for five weeks to rid myself of colds forever. But if they ever come up with a rhinovirus vaccine, I'll be first in line.
總的來說，我纔不會在沙漠裏站5個星期只爲永遠擺脫感冒。但如果有人發明出了鼻病毒疫苗的話，我一定會第一時間去接種的。
