《中英對照讀新聞》6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes／6人死於湖中的食腦阿米巴原蟲

《中英對照讀新聞》6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes／6人死於湖中的食腦阿米巴原蟲

◎ 魏國金

It sounds like science fiction but it’s true：A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.

聽起來像是科幻小說，卻是真的︰一種生活在湖水中、致命的阿米巴蟲，經鼻腔進入人體，並以腦為食，直至你死亡。

"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This is a heat-loving amoeba," Beach said. "In future decades, as temperatures rise, we’d expect to see more cases."

「這絕對是我們務需追查之事，」美國疾病控制暨預防中心（CDC）休憩水生傳染病專家畢區說。「這是一種喜愛高溫的阿米巴，」畢區指出。「我們預期未來幾十年隨著氣溫升高，會出現更多病例。」

According to the CDC, the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials noticed a spike with six cases.

CDC指出，從1995至2004年，被稱為福氏耐格里阿米巴的原蟲在美國造成23人死亡。衛生官員注意到今年案例增加，有6個死亡案例。

Beach said people become infected when they wade through shallow water and stir up the bottom. If someone allows water to shoot up the nose—say, by doing a somersault in chest-deep water—the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve.

畢區指出，人們蹚過淺水，攪混水澤底部，就可能被感染。如果讓水衝入鼻腔—比如說，在深及胸部的水中翻個觔斗—這種阿米巴就可能緊緊攀附在嗅神經上。

The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up into the brain, where it continues the damage, "basically feeding on the brain cells," Beach said. Once infected, most people have little chance of survival.

當阿米巴往腦部移動時就會破壞鼻腔組織，到了腦部，繼續進行破壞，「基本上，牠是以腦細胞為食，」畢區說。一旦感染，大部分人無法存活。

新聞辭典

waterborne︰水路運輸的、水傳播的。waterborne diseases（藉由水傳染的疾病）。

somersault︰動詞、名詞，翻觔斗。His younger brother turned a somersault. （他的弟弟翻了個觔斗。）

latch onto︰緊抓住。The stray dog latched onto me.（這隻流浪狗緊跟著我不走。）