每日英語跟讀 Ep.K229: What is the mu variant of the coronavirus?
What is the mu variant?
這是今年1月在哥倫比亞最初發現的一種新冠肺炎變異毒株，已經在南美洲、歐洲和美國分別造成獨立疫情。
It’s a version of the coronavirus that was first identified in Colombia in January and has since caused isolated outbreaks in South America, Europe and the United States.
世界衛生組織擔心此毒株將降低疫苗和療法的有效性，於上個月將Mu變種病毒列為「觀察變異毒株」，儘管目前仍需要更多證據。
The World Health Organization last month listed it as a “variant of interest” because of concerns it may make vaccines and treatments less effective, though more evidence is needed.
科學家基於可疑的基因變異監測新出現的COVID-19變異毒株，並蒐集證據以決定新毒株是否更具傳染性或將造成更嚴重的症狀。由於病毒持續在變化，很多新毒株也經常消逝。
Scientists monitor emerging COVID-19 variants based on suspicious genetic changes and then look for evidence to determine whether the new version is more infectious or causes more severe illness. Viruses evolve constantly and many new variants often fade away.
目前看來，Mu變異毒株傳播得並不快，其所造成的染疫案件僅佔不到全球案例的1%。在哥倫比亞則有約39%的確診案例由此毒株引起。大部分國家仍對傳染性高的Delta變異毒株相當擔憂，它在已經入侵的174國之中幾乎都成為主要感染來源。
So far, the mu variant doesn’t seem to be spreading quickly: It accounts for fewer than 1% of COVID-19 cases globally. In Colombia, it may be responsible for about 39% of cases. Most countries remain concerned about the highly contagious delta variant; it is the dominant variant in almost all of the 174 countries where it’s been detected.
Mu變異毒株在10多個國家中已經出現，歐洲官員們也正在尋找此病毒在歐洲的傳播途徑。法國衛生部近期表示，Mu變異毒株在歐洲「最近似乎沒有增加」。
Officials have been tracking the mu variant in Europe, where it has been seen in about a dozen countries. The French Ministry of Health recently said the mu variant “does not seem to have increased recently” across Europe.
英國公衛機構上個月發表的一份報告指出，mu變異毒株可能與令人擔心的南非Beta病毒一樣，對疫苗具有抗性，但表示需要更多現實數據。
A report from England’s public health agency last month suggested the mu variant might be as resistant to vaccines as the worrisome beta variant first seen in South Africa, but said more real-world data was needed.
世衛官員指出，Mu變異毒株似乎正在南美洲部分國家崛起，但Delta病毒傳染性仍較高。
WHO officials said the Mu variant appears to be rising in some countries in South America, but that the Delta variant still spreads far more easily.
世衛新冠疫情技術負責人瑪麗亞·克爾霍夫（Maria Van Kerkhove）表示：「Mu變異毒株對我們來說值得關注，理由是它的變異組合」，但也表示「它看起來並不流行」。
The Mu variant “is of interest to us because of the combination of mutations it has,” said WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove. “But it doesn’t seem to be circulating.” Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20210910-2762003