---

完整標題： 還在消毒東西表面嗎? 有可能只是白費工夫
發稿單位： NPR
發稿時間： 十二月28日 5:00AM 東部時間
撰 稿 者： Patti Neighmond
原文連結： https://tinyurl.com/y9hgevzf

因文章長度,我並沒有逐字翻...人名/學校/專有名詞有附上原文
建議全部看完,斷章取義會偏離本意很多


TL;DR
1. 常洗手
2. 肥皂好用
3. 使用任何消毒商品請詳閱使用說明並保持空氣流通
4. 常洗手
5. 常洗手


--文章開始--

At the start of the pandemic, stores quickly sold out of disinfectant sprays
and wipes. People were advised to wipe down their packages and the cans they
bought at the grocery store.

疫情一開始時,商店裡各種消毒用品很快就被搶購一空
我們被告知包裹或是從外面買來的商品最好都好好的擦過一遍

But scientists have learned a lot this year about the coronavirus and how
it's transmitted, and it turns out all that scrubbing and disinfecting might
not be necessary.

但科學家也在這一年內對新冠病毒以及它的傳播方式有更多的了解
結論是我們努力地消毒物體表面有可能是不必要的

If a person infected with the coronavirus sneezes, coughs or talks loudly,
droplets containing particles of the virus can travel through the air and
eventually land on nearby surfaces. But the risk of getting infected from
touching a surface contaminated by the virus is low, says Emanuel Goldman, a
microbiologist at Rutgers University.

當一個人感染新冠病毒並打噴嚏,咳嗽,大聲說話時
帶有病毒的飛沫會先散播在空氣中,再落到附近的物體表面上
但羅格斯大學 (Rutgers University)微生物學家Emanuel Goldman表示
經由物體表面而感染的機率是不高的

"In hospitals, surfaces have been tested near COVID-19 patients, and no
infectious virus can be identified," Goldman says.

Goldman表示
“在檢驗過醫院裡新冠病人附近的物體表面後,並沒有找到帶有傳染性的病毒”

What's found is viral RNA, which is like "the corpse of the virus," he says.
That's what's left over after the virus dies.

..找到的則是viral RNA,也就是俗稱的 ”病毒屍體”

"They don't find infectious virus, and that's because the virus is very
fragile in the environment — it decays very quickly," Goldman says.

Goldman補充

“沒有找到有傳染性病毒的原因是(病毒)在環境裡是脆弱的…它們衰退的相
當快”

Back in January and February, scientists and public health officials thought
surface contamination was a problem. In fact, early studies suggested the
virus could live on surfaces for days.

(今年)一,二月時,科學家和公衛專家們認為物體表面是個隱憂
事實上,早期研究也指出病毒可在表面上存活數天

It was assumed transmission occurred when an infected person sneezed or
coughed on a nearby surface and "you would get the disease by touching those
surfaces and then transferring the virus into your eyes, nose or mouth," says
Linsey Marr, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech who studies airborne
transmission of infectious disease.

Linsey Marr, 維吉理工(Virginia Tech)工程(Engineering)教授說,



So people were advised to clean common areas with disinfectant, wipe down

cans and boxes from the grocery store and even wear gloves.

所以大家被告知要在公共區域做好消毒,商店買來的罐子箱子要好好擦拭…甚至戴手套

In retrospect, Marr says that was "overkill." Today, she says, "all the
evidence points toward breathing in the virus from the air as being the most
important route of transmission."

現在回顧, Marr表示這些(行為)都太過頭了
她表示 “目前的證據都指出最主要的傳播方式是經由呼吸在空中的病毒而來”

Scientists now know that the early surface studies were done in pristine lab
conditions using much larger amounts of virus than would be found in a
real-life scenario.

科學家現在知道早期的表面測試是在環境因素完美的實驗室裡進行
病毒的量也遠比會在日常生活中接觸的要來的大很多

Even so, many of us continue to attack door handles, packages and groceries
with disinfectant wipes, and workers across the U.S. spend hours disinfecting
surfaces in public areas like airports, buildings and subways.

但就算如此,我們還是繼續用消毒紙巾跟門把,包裹,或是日常雜貨用品奮戰
各地也都在消毒公共場合這件事上花上許多時間

There's no scientific data to justify this, says Dr. Kevin Fennelly, a
respiratory infection specialist with the National Institutes of Health.

國衛院(National Institutes of Health) 呼吸道傳染專家 – Dr. Kevin
Fennelly表示,現在並沒有科學資料可以佐證

"When you see people doing spray disinfection of streets and sidewalks and
walls and subways, I just don't know of any data that supports the fact that
we're getting infected from viruses that are jumping up from the sidewalk."

“當看到其他人在街上或是地鐵上噴消毒液時
我想不到有什麼資料是可以證明我們是因為從街上跳起來的病毒而感染”

Marr says focusing on cleaning surfaces is not the best way to slow infection.

Marr表示專注在消毒物體表面並不是減緩傳染的最好方法

"Instead of paying so much attention to cleaning surfaces, we might be better
off paying attention to cleaning the air, given the finite amount of time and
resources," Marr says.

Marr表示 “當時間跟物資都有限的狀態下
我們應該著重於清淨空氣,而不是清潔物體表面”

Fennelly agrees, noting that airborne transmission is more likely in indoor
public places like restaurants.

Fennelly也同意,並補充空氣傳播相對容易在室內的公共場合(如餐廳)發生


"Why aren't we doing more to figure out ways to ventilate those areas?" he
asks. "It would be better to use ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, which we
know can kill these viruses in the air."

“為什麼我們不花更多時間來研究怎麼讓這些地方更通風?”
“用UV燈殺菌或許是個更好做法…我們知道(UV燈)可以殺死在空氣中的病毒”

For Scientists Who Study Virus Transmission, 2020 Was A Watershed Year

對研究病毒傳播的科學家來說, 2020是分水嶺的一年

Figuring out how to prevent coronavirus transmission in office buildings,
schools, bars and restaurants is definitely a challenge, he says, but "we
have a lot of really smart engineers and architects and industrial hygienists
who know how to handle airborne infection."

他指出怎麼在公共場合預防新冠病毒傳播是個挑戰

但

“我們有許多聰明的工程師,設計師,以及職業衛生專家知道怎麼去對付經由空氣傳播
的感染源”


Spraying disinfectant is not only unproductive, but it's potentially
dangerous, according to Delphine Farmer, an atmospheric chemist at Colorado
State University.

Delphine Farmer, 科羅拉多州立大學(Colorado State University)大氣化學家
(Atmospheric Chemist)表示

噴灑消毒液不只是低效率,也有潛在的危險性


Heavy use of disinfectants, like bleach and hydrogen peroxide, can "produce
toxic molecules that then we breathe," she warns.

她警告

過度使用消毒產品…像是漂白水或是過氧化氫 會”產生讓我們吸入的有害分子”


And breathing in toxic particles can affect our health, Farmer says. The
molecules can react directly with the cells in lung tissue and cause
oxidative stress. And certain molecules are known to be toxic. "It's like
breathing in poison," she says.

Farmer補充, 吸入這些會對我們的健康造成影響
這些會直接對我們的肺細胞氧化應激(oxidative stress)
甚至某些產生的分子是已知有毒的…”就像是直接吸毒一樣”

註:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidative_stress) – 有中文條目

Early on in the pandemic, Farmer says, many people were making cleaning
mistakes: "There were a lot of cases of people cleaning their groceries with
bleach and vinegar, which is a recipe to create some very nasty chlorine gas,
and people were getting quite ill from those side effects."

Farmer說道,在疫情早期很多人消毒的作法是錯的
“他們同時用了漂白水跟醋…結果生成了很不友善的氯氣
也讓很多人產生相對的副作用”

Bottom line: Health experts emphasize that the most important way to avoid
infection is to stay away from crowds and wear a mask whenever you leave the
house. Limit the time you spend in any indoor space with people outside of
your own household — and wear a mask when you're in those spaces.

說到底…衛生專家們強調避免感染最重要的是遠離人群..並當你離開家時戴上口罩
減少在任何室內公共場所待的時間…並戴上口罩

When you're out in public, be aware of surfaces you touch, and wash your
hands often. It's much more effective to wash your hands thoroughly than try
to clean everything you touch.

當在外時, 注意你碰的表面…並常常洗手
常洗手比你試著去清潔所有身邊物品來的有效

And if you do decide to keep wiping down canned goods or packages that arrive
at your house, there's no need for fancy cleaning products; "old-fashioned
soap and water" will do just fine, Farmer says.

Farmer說道,當你決定去清潔物品時…不需要用到特別商品…肥皂水就夠了

--文章結束--

--
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 104.33.36.156 (美國)
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1VwdW2I0 (nCoV2019)
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/nCoV2019/M.1609201666.A.480.html