研究：新冠病毒或借助大气污染物颗粒传播

意大利科学家的最新研究显示，新冠病毒能够附着在大气污染物颗粒上，这或许可以使病毒传播得更远，导致更多人感染。

Lines of cars are pictured on Guomao Bridge in Beijing, Dec 8, 2019. [Photo/VCG]

Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.

科学家日前在空气污染物颗粒上发现了新冠病毒，他们正在研究，这是否能使病毒传播得更远，并增加感染人数。

The work is preliminary and it is not yet known if the virus remains viable on pollution particles and in sufficient quantity to cause disease.

这项研究还处于初步阶段，目前还不清楚新冠病毒是否能在污染颗粒上存活，以及病毒数量是否足以致病。

The Italian scientists used standard techniques to collect outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in Bergamo province and identified a gene highly specific to Covid-19 in multiple samples. The detection was confirmed by blind testing at an independent laboratory.

意大利科学家使用标准技术在意大利贝加莫省的一个城市和一个工业场所收集了室外空气污染样本，并在多个样本中都发现了一种与新冠病毒有高度特异性的基因。这个发现已经得到另一个独立实验室盲测结果的验证。

Leonardo Setti at the University of Bologna in Italy, who led the work, said it was important to investigate if the virus could be carried more widely by air pollution.

意大利博洛尼亚大学的莱昂纳多·塞蒂是这项研究的负责人。他说，研究新冠病毒能否通过空气污染更广泛地传播是很重要的。

“I am a scientist and I am worried when I don’t know,” he said. “If we know, we can find a solution. But if we don’t know, we can only suffer the consequences.”

他说：“我是一名科学家，当我不知道答案的时候，我会很担心。如果我们知道，我们就能找到解决办法。但如果我们不知道，我们只能承受后果。”

Two other research groups have suggested air pollution particles could help coronavirus travel further in the air.

另外两个研究小组指出，空气污染颗粒可能有助于新冠病毒在空气中传播得更远。

A statistical analysis by Setti’s team suggests higher levels of particle pollution could explain higher rates of infection in parts of northern Italy before a lockdown was imposed, an idea supported by another preliminary analysis. The region is one of the most polluted in Europe.

塞蒂研究团队的一项统计分析显示，意大利北部的部分地区是欧洲空气污染最严重的地区之一，在实施封锁措施之前，这些地区的大气颗粒物污染水平较高，而那里的新冠病毒感染率也较高。另一项初步分析研究也支持了这一发现。

Neither of the studies by Setti’s team have been peer-reviewed and therefore have not been endorsed by independent scientists. But experts agree their proposal is plausible and requires investigation.

塞蒂研究团队的这两项分析结果还没有经过同行评审，因此尚未得到独立科学家的认可。但专家们认为这一结果是合理的，需要进一步调查研究。

peer-reviewed[ˌpɪr rɪˈvjuːd]：adj.经同行评议的

Previous studies have shown that air pollution particles do harbour microbes and that pollution is likely to have carried the viruses causing bird flu, measles and foot-and-mouth disease over considerable distances.

此前的研究表明，大气颗粒物中确实含有微生物，空气污染很可能会把导致禽流感、麻疹和口蹄疫的病毒带到相当远的地方。

The potential role of air pollution particles is linked to the broader question of how the coronavirus is transmitted. Large virus-laden droplets from infected people’s coughs and sneezes fall to the ground within a metre or two. But much smaller droplets, less than 5 microns in diameter, can remain in the air for minutes to hours and travel further.

空气污染颗粒的潜在作用与新冠病毒如何传播这一更广泛的问题有关。病毒感染者咳嗽和打喷嚏时，大量携带病毒的飞沫落在一两米内的地面上。但是更小的直径小于5微米的飞沫可以在空气中停留几分钟到几小时，并传播得更远。

Experts are not sure whether these tiny airborne droplets can cause coronavirus infections, though they know the 2003 Sars coronavirus was spread in the air and that the new virus can remain viable for hours in tiny droplets.

专家们并不确定这些微小的空气飞沫是否会导致新冠病毒感染，但他们知道2003年的Sars冠状病毒可以通过空气传播，而且新冠病毒可以在微小飞沫中存活数小时。

But researchers say the importance of potential airborne transmission, and the possible boosting role of pollution particles, mean it must not be ruled out without evidence.

但研究人员表示，潜在的空气传播的重要性，以及污染颗粒可能起到的促进作用，意味着在没有证据的情况下不能排除这种可能性。