美國加州公園爆發致命病毒近萬人健康受威脅

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Some 10,000 people who stayed in tent cabins at Yosemite National Park this summer may be at risk for the deadly rodent-borne hantavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

The CDC urged lab testing of patients who exhibit symptoms consistent with the lung disease, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, after a stay at the California park between June and August and recommended that doctors notify state health departments when it is found.

Two men have died from hantavirus linked to the Yosemite outbreak and four others were sickened but survived, while the CDC said additional suspected cases were being investigated from "multiple health jurisdictions."

Most of the victims were believed to have been infected while staying in one of 91 "Signature" tent-style cabins in Yosemite's popular Curry Village camping area.

"An estimated 10,000 persons stayed in the 'Signature Tent Cabins' from June 10 through August 24, 2012," the CDC said. "People who stayed in the tents between June 10 and August 24 may be at risk of developing HPS in the next six weeks."

Yosemite officials earlier this week shut down all 91 of the insulated tent cabins after finding deer mice, which carry the disease and can burrow through holes the size of pencil erasers, nesting between the double walls.

Park authorities said on Friday that they had contacted approximately 3,000 parties of visitors who stayed in the tent cabins since mid-June, advising them to seek immediate medical attention if they have symptoms of hantavirus.

Nearly 4 million people visit Yosemite, one of the nation's most popular national parks, each year, attracted to the its dramatic scenery and hiking trails. Roughly 70 percent of those visitors congregate in Yosemite Valley, where Curry Village is located.

The virus starts out causing flu-like symptoms, including headache, fever, muscle ache, shortness of breath and cough, and can lead to severe breathing difficulties and death.

The incubation period for the virus is typically two to four weeks after exposure, the CDC said, with a range between a few days and six weeks. Just over a third of cases are fatal.

【新聞快訊】

據新華社美國疾病控制和預防中心8月31日說，大約1萬名今年夏天在加利福尼亞州約塞米蒂國家公園露營的人承受風險，可能感染漢坦病毒。這一機構建議，近期有露營經歷的民衆如果出現流行性感冒症狀，立即就醫。美國疾控中心說，遊客如果今年6月至8月在約塞米蒂國家公園柯里村“簽名帳篷小屋”度假，有感染漢坦病毒的風險。

這一機構說，兩人已經因爲感染這一病毒死亡，另外4人發病，一些疑似病例正處於確診階段。大部分患者據信在“簽名帳篷小屋”感染病毒。“據估計，大約1萬人6月10日至8月24日之間入住"簽名帳篷小屋"，”疾控中心說，“這段時間入住那些帳篷的人有在今後6周內出現漢坦病毒肺綜合徵症狀的風險。”

漢坦病毒肺綜合徵由漢坦病毒引起，往往通過像鹿鼠這樣的小型哺乳動物的排泄物、唾液等傳播。漢坦病毒肺綜合徵患者早期可能出現類似感冒的症狀，比如發熱、頭疼和常見於大腿、臀部及背部的疼痛。早期症狀出現2至7天后，部分患者會出現呼吸困難，嚴重者甚至死亡。

漢坦病毒感染難於早期診斷，目前也沒有相應的抗病毒治療藥物。根據美國疾病控制和預防中心的統計，全美自1993年以來共發現587個漢坦病毒肺綜合徵病例，其中三分之一患者死亡。

約塞米蒂是加州知名國家公園，尤其受攀巖者和家庭露營者歡迎，每年接待美國和來自世界各地的遊客超過370萬人次。