专家：新冠病毒变异后更具传染性 但是致死率可能下降了

新冠病毒的变异毒株D614G已经入侵欧洲、北美和马来西亚、新加坡等亚洲部分地区，据称这种变异毒株的传染性比原病毒高出10倍，还有人担心目前在研发的疫苗可能对变异毒株无效。

A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020.

An increasingly common mutation of the novel coronavirus found in Europe, North America and parts of Asia may be more infectious but appears less deadly, according to a prominent infectious diseases doctor.

一位杰出的传染病医师指出，在欧洲、北美和亚洲部分地区发现的一种日益常见的新冠病毒变异体可能更具传染性，但似乎没有那么致命。

Paul Tambyah, senior consultant at the National University of Singapore and president-elect of the International Society of Infectious Diseases, said evidence suggests the proliferation of the D614G mutation in some parts of the world has coincided with a drop in death rates, suggesting it is less lethal.

新加坡国立大学的高级顾问、国际传染病学会的候任主席保罗·坦布亚表示，有证据显示，D614G变异毒株在世界部分地区扩散的同时，致死率也下降了，这意味着这种新冠病毒变异体没那么致命。

"Maybe that's a good thing to have a virus that is more infectious but less deadly," Tambyah told Reuters.

坦布亚告诉路透社说：“病毒更具传染性但却没那么致命，这也许是件好事。”

Tambyah said most viruses tend to become less virulent as they mutate.

坦布亚说，大多数病毒在变异过程中毒性都会降低。

"It is in the virus' interest to infect more people but not to kill them because a virus depends on the host for food and for shelter," he said.

他说：“病毒感染更多人但却不杀死他们，这对病毒有利，因为病毒依赖宿主才能得到食物和庇护所。”

Scientists discovered the mutation as early as February and it has circulated in Europe and the Americas, the World Health Organization said. The WHO has also said there is no evidence the mutation has led to more severe disease.

世界卫生组织称，科学家早在二月份就发现病毒变异，当时变异毒株在欧洲和美洲传播。世卫组织还表示，没有证据表明变异毒株会引发更严重的疾病。

A man wearing a protective face mask walks past an illustration of a virus outside a regional science centre, as the city and surrounding areas face local restrictions in an effort to avoid a local lockdown being forced upon the region, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Oldham, Britain August 3, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble

On Sunday, Malaysia's director-general of health Noor Hisham Abdullah urged greater public vigilance after authorities detected what they believe was the D614G mutation of the coronavirus in two recent clusters.

8月16日，马来西亚的权威部门在最近的两起聚集性疫情中检测出新冠病毒D614G变种后，马来西亚卫生局局长努尔·希沙姆·阿卜杜拉敦促公众提高警惕。

Sebastian Maurer-Stroh of Singapore's agency for science, technology and research said the variant has also been found in the city-state but that containment measures have prevented large-scale spread.

新加坡科技研究局的塞巴斯蒂安·毛雷尔-斯特罗称，在新加坡也发现了这一变种，但是新加坡采取的控制措施防止了该变种大规模扩散。

Malaysia's Noor Hisham said the D614G strain detected there was 10 times more infectious and that vaccines currently in development may not be effective against this mutation.

马来西亚的努尔·希沙姆说，在马来西亚检测到的D614G毒株的传染性比原病毒高出10倍，目前正在研发中的疫苗可能对该变种无效。

But Tambyah and Maurer-Stroh said such mutations would not likely change the virus enough to make potential vaccines less effective.

但是坦布亚和毛雷尔-斯特罗称，这种变异对病毒的改变不足以让潜在的疫苗减少效力。

"(The) variants are almost identical and did not change areas that our immune system typically recognise, so there shouldn't be any difference for vaccines being developed," said Maurer-Stroh.

毛雷尔-斯特罗称：“变种和原病毒大致相同，没有改变我们的免疫系统通常能识别的区域，所以研发中的疫苗对二者的效果应该不会有差别。”