冠狀病毒種類繁多。它的多樣性令人驚恐,但這就是我們必須直面的現(xiàn)實(shí)。它們可以引起各種各樣的疾病,從通常溫和的普通感冒,到嚴(yán)重得多的呼吸系統(tǒng)疾病,例如非典型肺炎(SARS)和中東呼吸綜合征(MERS),當(dāng)然還包括導(dǎo)致新冠肺炎的新型冠狀病毒——迄今為止,它已經(jīng)在全世界奪走了400多萬條生命。
而且,就連引發(fā)新冠肺炎的那種冠狀病毒毒株,也在過去一年半的時(shí)間里不斷變異。對(duì)公眾來說,這意味著,新冠肺炎的提示性癥狀可能有所不同,這取決于你不幸感染了哪一種版本的冠狀病毒。但人們并不總是很清楚到底是怎樣的。典型的初始癥狀可能是失去嗅覺或味覺;感染德爾塔(Delta)變異毒株可能不會(huì)導(dǎo)致這些癥狀,但感染者可能出現(xiàn)其他癥狀,比如流鼻涕、頭痛。
新冠肺炎是一種奇怪的疾病,公共衛(wèi)生官員仍然在努力解開這個(gè)謎團(tuán)。最常見的、以及一些更加奇特的癥狀,已經(jīng)被關(guān)注了相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。其中包括突然失去味覺或嗅覺、喉嚨痛、流鼻涕和鼻塞、惡心、腹瀉、呼吸困難、發(fā)燒,以及肌肉酸痛。這些類似流感的典型癥狀與感冒相交叉,然后會(huì)出現(xiàn)一些意想不到的癥狀,例如感覺功能減弱。如果患上“新冠長(zhǎng)期癥狀”(Long COVID),你就不得不面臨與之長(zhǎng)期共存的可怕前景。
目前在全球傳播的多個(gè)新冠病毒變種——包括目前占美國(guó)新增新冠感染病例大多數(shù)的德爾塔變異毒株——使問題進(jìn)一步復(fù)雜化,因?yàn)椴煌淖兎N可能以不同的方式表現(xiàn)出來。所有這些突變,無論是阿爾法(Alpha)、德爾塔,還是拉姆達(dá)(Lambda)變異毒株,或者其他完全不同的變種,仍然是如此之新,以至于我們很難評(píng)估每個(gè)威脅的確切性質(zhì)。
到目前為止,在所有被美國(guó)疾病控制中心(Centers for Disease Control)和世界衛(wèi)生組織(World Health Organization)列為“須關(guān)切變種”的主要變種群中,德爾塔變異毒株對(duì)全球的殺傷力最為嚴(yán)重。這種變異毒株以傳播力強(qiáng)和病毒載量高著稱,能夠在疾病的早期階段更快地傳播病原體。
目前看來,根據(jù)英國(guó)最新發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù),德爾塔變異毒株可能會(huì)引起頭痛、喉嚨痛和流鼻涕等癥狀,也可能會(huì)引起發(fā)燒和咳嗽,這些癥狀甚至?xí)霈F(xiàn)在一些完全接種新冠疫苗的人身上。(順便說一下,英國(guó)正在疲于應(yīng)對(duì)德爾塔感染浪潮。)一般來說,這些都是典型的新冠肺炎癥狀,但不包括味覺或嗅覺喪失這一提示性跡象。
這意味著,隨著我們即將在幾個(gè)月后進(jìn)入流感和感冒季節(jié),德爾塔變異毒株感染患者和輕度流感患者可能會(huì)變得更加難以區(qū)分。
這些新冠變種癥狀的廣度和深度將在未來幾年大白于天下。就目前而言,好消息是,盡管輝瑞(Pfizer)和阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)等公司的現(xiàn)有疫苗可能無法完全阻止新冠變異毒株的傳播,以及這些癥狀的出現(xiàn),但它們?cè)陬A(yù)防可能導(dǎo)致住院或死亡的重癥方面表現(xiàn)得相當(dāng)有效。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
冠狀病毒種類繁多。它的多樣性令人驚恐,但這就是我們必須直面的現(xiàn)實(shí)。它們可以引起各種各樣的疾病,從通常溫和的普通感冒,到嚴(yán)重得多的呼吸系統(tǒng)疾病,例如非典型肺炎(SARS)和中東呼吸綜合征(MERS),當(dāng)然還包括導(dǎo)致新冠肺炎的新型冠狀病毒——迄今為止,它已經(jīng)在全世界奪走了400多萬條生命。
而且,就連引發(fā)新冠肺炎的那種冠狀病毒毒株,也在過去一年半的時(shí)間里不斷變異。對(duì)公眾來說,這意味著,新冠肺炎的提示性癥狀可能有所不同,這取決于你不幸感染了哪一種版本的冠狀病毒。但人們并不總是很清楚到底是怎樣的。典型的初始癥狀可能是失去嗅覺或味覺;感染德爾塔(Delta)變異毒株可能不會(huì)導(dǎo)致這些癥狀,但感染者可能出現(xiàn)其他癥狀,比如流鼻涕、頭痛。
新冠肺炎是一種奇怪的疾病,公共衛(wèi)生官員仍然在努力解開這個(gè)謎團(tuán)。最常見的、以及一些更加奇特的癥狀,已經(jīng)被關(guān)注了相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。其中包括突然失去味覺或嗅覺、喉嚨痛、流鼻涕和鼻塞、惡心、腹瀉、呼吸困難、發(fā)燒,以及肌肉酸痛。這些類似流感的典型癥狀與感冒相交叉,然后會(huì)出現(xiàn)一些意想不到的癥狀,例如感覺功能減弱。如果患上“新冠長(zhǎng)期癥狀”(Long COVID),你就不得不面臨與之長(zhǎng)期共存的可怕前景。
目前在全球傳播的多個(gè)新冠病毒變種——包括目前占美國(guó)新增新冠感染病例大多數(shù)的德爾塔變異毒株——使問題進(jìn)一步復(fù)雜化,因?yàn)椴煌淖兎N可能以不同的方式表現(xiàn)出來。所有這些突變,無論是阿爾法(Alpha)、德爾塔,還是拉姆達(dá)(Lambda)變異毒株,或者其他完全不同的變種,仍然是如此之新,以至于我們很難評(píng)估每個(gè)威脅的確切性質(zhì)。
到目前為止,在所有被美國(guó)疾病控制中心(Centers for Disease Control)和世界衛(wèi)生組織(World Health Organization)列為“須關(guān)切變種”的主要變種群中,德爾塔變異毒株對(duì)全球的殺傷力最為嚴(yán)重。這種變異毒株以傳播力強(qiáng)和病毒載量高著稱,能夠在疾病的早期階段更快地傳播病原體。
目前看來,根據(jù)英國(guó)最新發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù),德爾塔變異毒株可能會(huì)引起頭痛、喉嚨痛和流鼻涕等癥狀,也可能會(huì)引起發(fā)燒和咳嗽,這些癥狀甚至?xí)霈F(xiàn)在一些完全接種新冠疫苗的人身上。(順便說一下,英國(guó)正在疲于應(yīng)對(duì)德爾塔感染浪潮。)一般來說,這些都是典型的新冠肺炎癥狀,但不包括味覺或嗅覺喪失這一提示性跡象。
這意味著,隨著我們即將在幾個(gè)月后進(jìn)入流感和感冒季節(jié),德爾塔變異毒株感染患者和輕度流感患者可能會(huì)變得更加難以區(qū)分。
這些新冠變種癥狀的廣度和深度將在未來幾年大白于天下。就目前而言,好消息是,盡管輝瑞(Pfizer)和阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)等公司的現(xiàn)有疫苗可能無法完全阻止新冠變異毒株的傳播,以及這些癥狀的出現(xiàn),但它們?cè)陬A(yù)防可能導(dǎo)致住院或死亡的重癥方面表現(xiàn)得相當(dāng)有效。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
Coronaviruses contain multitudes. Terrible multitudes, but multitudes nonetheless. They can cause everything from the usually-benign common cold to far more serious respiratory conditions such as SARS and MERS and, of course, the novel coronavirus which causes COVID and has claimed more than four million lives around the world to date.
And even that particular strain of coronavirus which leads to COVID-19 has continuously mutated itself over the course of the past year and a half. What that means for the public is that, depending on which version of the coronavirus you may catch, the tell-tale symptoms may diverge. But it's not always clear exactly how. Classic COVID may start off with loss of smell or taste; catching the COVID Delta strain may not lead to those symptoms but could cause others such as a runny nose and headache.
COVID is a strange puzzle of a disease which public health officials are still trying to piece together. The most common, and some of the weirder, symptoms have been on the radar for a while now: A sudden loss of taste or smell, sore throat, runny nose and congestion, nausea, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, fever, muscle aches. The typical trappings of something like the flu crossed with the cold and then multiplied by unexpected symptoms such as sensory dilution and the dire prospect of having to live with them if you have a case of "long COVID."
The multiple COVID variants now circulating the globe, include the Delta variant which now makes up a majority of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., complicate the matter further since different variants may manifest in different ways. And all of these mutations, whether they be the Alpha, Delta, or Lambda variants or something else entirely, are still so new that it's difficult to assess the precise nature of each individual threat.
Of the major mutation groups that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) list as "variants of concern," the Delta variant is by far doing the most damage globally due to its transmissibility and high levels "viral load" that can spread the pathogen faster and at an earlier stage of illness.
For now, it appears that the Delta variant (even in some who are fully vaccinated for COVID) can cause symptoms such as a headache, sore throat, and runny nose, and also potentially a fever and a cough, based on recent data from the U.K., which is grappling with Delta variant breakouts. Those are all typical COVID symptoms generally but don't include the tell-tale sign of taste or smell loss.
That means that as we head into the flu and cold season in several months, it might become more difficult to distinguish between a highly contagious COVID Delta variant patient and someone with a mild flu.
The coming years will reveal the breadth and depth of COVID-19 symptoms across its variants. For now, the good news is that while available vaccines from the likes of Pfizer and AstraZeneca may not entirely prevent coronavirus mutations from spreading, and these kinds of symptoms occurring, they are quite effective in preventing serious illness that can lead to hospitalization or death.