日前，香港大學(xué)李嘉誠醫(yī)學(xué)院的研究團(tuán)隊發(fā)現(xiàn)，相較于德爾塔變異株及原始病毒株，奧密克戎變異株在人體支氣管組織內(nèi)的復(fù)制速度大約快70倍。

The Omicron Covid variant has been found to multiply about 70 times quicker than the original and Delta versions of coronavirus in tissue samples taken from the bronchus, the main tubes from the windpipe to the lungs, in laboratory experiments that could help explain its rapid transmission.

實驗室在從支氣管（連接氣管和肺的主要管道）提取的組織樣本中發(fā)現(xiàn)，奧密克戎新冠變種毒株的復(fù)制速度比原始新冠毒株和德爾塔毒株大約快70倍。這一實驗有助于解釋奧密克戎毒株的傳播速度為什么這么快。

The study, by a team from the University of Hong Kong, also found that the new variant grew 10 times slower in lung tissue, which the authors said could be an indicator of lower disease severity.

香港大學(xué)的一個團(tuán)隊開展的這項研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，新變異株在肺部組織內(nèi)的繁殖速度會降低10倍，研究作者稱，這可能意味著病情不會那么重。

Michael Chan Chi-wai, who led the work, said the result needed to be interpreted with caution because severe disease is determined not only by how quickly the virus replicates but also by a person’s immune response and, in particular, whether the immune system goes into overdrive, causing a so-called cytokine storm.

研究領(lǐng)頭人陳志偉（音譯）表示，應(yīng)謹(jǐn)慎看待這一結(jié)果，因為是否發(fā)展為重癥不僅取決于病毒復(fù)制的速度，還取決于人體的免疫反應(yīng)，特別是免疫系統(tǒng)是否會因過激反應(yīng)導(dǎo)致所謂的細(xì)胞因子風(fēng)暴。

"It is also noted that by infecting many more people, a very infectious virus may cause more severe disease and death even though the virus itself may be less pathogenic,” he said. “Therefore, taken together with our recent studies showing that the Omicron variant can partially escape immunity from vaccines and past infection, the overall threat from the Omicron variant is likely to be very significant.”

他說：“研究還指出，即使病毒本身的致病性更低，但是傳染性很強(qiáng)的病毒可能通過感染更多人而導(dǎo)致更嚴(yán)重的疾病。我們最近的研究顯示，奧密克戎毒株可以繞過接種疫苗和感染后產(chǎn)生的部分免疫屏障，因此該毒株產(chǎn)生的整體威脅力可能非常大?！?/p>

Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, pointed out that Delta, which turned out to be more pathogenic, showed a similar pattern of replicating more slowly in the lungs.

路易斯安那州立大學(xué)健康科學(xué)中心什里夫波特分校的微生物學(xué)和免疫學(xué)副教授杰里米·卡米爾指出，被證實致病性更高的德爾塔病毒也表現(xiàn)出在肺部復(fù)制速度變慢的相似模式。

"These authors found Omicron replicates fantastically well – even far better than either Delta or the original virus – in bronchial tissue,” Kamil said. “This could in some ways contribute to an advantage in spread/transmission between people.

卡米爾說：“研究作者發(fā)現(xiàn)，奧密克戎在支氣管組織內(nèi)復(fù)制速度極快，甚至比德爾塔或原始毒株快得多。這在某種程度上加劇了人與人之間的病毒傳播?！?/p>

"Of course, a huge component of Omicron’s transmissibility in real life is going to be its potential to escape neutralising antibodies that protect against infection in the first place. It’s very likely spreading well even between vaccinated people, especially those who haven’t recently gotten a booster shot.”

“當(dāng)然，現(xiàn)實生活中奧密克戎毒株的傳播很大程度上依賴于它躲避人體抗體的潛力，而具有中和能力的抗體是防護(hù)的第一道屏障。該毒株甚至很可能在接種疫苗的人群當(dāng)中也具有很強(qiáng)的傳播力，尤其是那些最近沒有打加強(qiáng)針的人群?！?/p>

The initial data, published online and not yet peer-reviewed, came from experiments using lung tissue samples taken from patients during surgery. By 24 hours, the Omicron variant had replicated about 70 times more than Delta and the original variant. Although the bronchus is not the upper respiratory system, scientists said this could lead to people shedding more virus and passing on infections more easily.

該研究的初期數(shù)據(jù)來自用手術(shù)過程中從患者體內(nèi)獲取的肺部組織樣本做的實驗，這些數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)布在網(wǎng)上，尚未經(jīng)過同行評審。實驗發(fā)現(xiàn)，奧密克戎變異株在24小時內(nèi)的復(fù)制速度比德爾塔及原始毒株快了近70倍。盡管支氣管不屬于上呼吸道系統(tǒng)，但是科學(xué)家表示，這可能會導(dǎo)致人們釋放更多病毒，從而更易傳染他人。

The findings, together with other recent work showing Omicron infects cells more readily, add to an emerging picture that the variant may be intrinsically more transmissible in addition to evading existing immunity.

除了這些研究結(jié)果，前一陣也有其他研究表明奧密克戎毒株更易入侵細(xì)胞，綜合起來可以看出，奧密克戎變異株除了可以躲避人體內(nèi)現(xiàn)有的免疫屏障，而且本質(zhì)上傳播力更強(qiáng)。

英文來源：衛(wèi)報

翻譯&編輯：丹妮