周末，俄罗斯发生的一起疑似肺鼠疫病例震惊了卫生官员、白宫和社交媒体，引发了人们对这种疾病在世界各地传播可能会发生什么的担忧。
A suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia rattled health officials, the White House and social media over the weekend, stoking fears about what might happen if the disease spreads around the world.
为什么重要：鼠疫可以在人与人之间传播，如果不快速治疗，可能会致命，但它的传播方式与COVID-19不同，并且可以通过现代医学高度治愈。
Why it matters: Pneumonic plague can spread between people and can be deadly without rapid treatment, but it moves differently than COVID-19 and is highly treatable with modern medicine.
快速赶上：据当地媒体报道，9月下旬，一名在俄罗斯伊尔库茨克地区一家抗鼠疫研究所工作的妇女打破了一根含有肺鼠疫病原体的试管。
Catch up quick: In late September, a woman who worked at an anti-plague research institute in Russia's Irkutsk region broke a test tube that contained a pneumonic plague pathogen, according to localmediareports.
据报道，几天后，她在附近一家医院出现鼠疫症状后死亡。当局在该地区的五家医院进行隔离，并对约200人进行医学观察。白宫、国务院和卫生与公众服务部正在监测疑似疫情。
She reportedly died days later at a nearby hospital after showing plague symptoms. Authorities instituted quarantines at five hospitals in the region and placed about 200 people under medical observation. The White House, State Department and Department of Health and Human Services are monitoring the suspected outbreak.
总体情况：瘟疫可以用抗生素治疗，如果在症状出现后的前24小时内治疗，成功率很高。
The big picture: Plague can be treated with antibiotics, with a high success rate if treated within the first 24 hours after symptoms begin.
人际传播通常很少见，需要密切接触咳嗽患者。疾病预防控制中心表示，尚未记录无症状传播。但它仍然可能引起流行病，使其成为全球关注的问题。以下是需要了解的内容以及它与新冠病毒的不同之处。什么是肺鼠疫？
Person-to-person transmission is generally rare and requires close exposure to a coughing patient. CDC says asymptomatic transmission has not been documented. But it can still cause epidemics, making it a global concern. Here's what to know and how it's different than COVID. What is pneumonic plague?
鼠疫是一种由鼠疫耶尔森氏菌引起的快速进展的肺部感染，鼠疫耶尔森氏菌是一种导致黑死病的细菌。
Pneumonic plague is a rapidly progressing lung infection caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium that caused the Black Death.
鼠疫与黑死病不同，黑死病可由跳蚤叮咬引起。这三者都可以通过跳蚤叮咬或接触受感染的体液传播。
Pneumonic plague differs from bubonic plague, which can result from flea bites, and septicemic plague. All three can be transmitted via flea bites or coming into contact with infected bodily fluids.
鼠疫也可以通过人或受感染的动物打喷嚏或咳嗽时排出的呼吸道飞沫传播。
Pneumonic plague can also be transmitted through respiratory droplets expelled when a person, or an infected animal, sneezes or coughs.
美国疾病控制与预防中心表示：“鼠疫是该疾病中最严重的形式，也是唯一可以在人与人之间传播的鼠疫形式。”据CDC称，与咳嗽患者近距离接触后会发生人际传播。
"Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of the disease and is the only form of plague that can be spread from person to person," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Person-to-person transmission happens after close exposure to a coughing patient, per the CDC.
症状、肺鼠疫的治疗据疾病预防控制中心称，吸入受感染的飞沫后一到三天内症状可能会出现。
Symptoms, treatment of pneumonic plague Symptoms can start within one to three days after inhaling infected air droplets, according to the CDC.
主要症状包括：发烧、头痛、虚弱、迅速发展的肺炎、呼吸急促、胸痛、咳嗽和带血或水样粘液。
Main symptoms include: fever, headache, weakness, quickly developing pneumonia, shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and bloody or watery mucus.
据梅奥诊所称，几种类型的抗生素可用于对抗任何形式的瘟疫，包括肺鼠疫。肺鼠疫有多致命？据世界卫生组织称，如果24小时不及时治疗，肺鼠疫可能致命。世界卫生组织表示：“如果及时发现并治疗，康复率就会很高。”
Several types of antibiotics can be used to combat any form of the plague, including pneumonic, according to the Mayo Clinic. How deadly is pneumonic plague? The pneumonic plague can be fatal if left untreated for 24 hours, according to the World Health Organization. "Recovery rates are high if detected and treated in time," the WHO says.
鼠疫与COVID-19背景：海外关于一种危险的传染性疾病的零星报道唤起了人们对COVID-19大流行早期的记忆。
Pneumonic plague vs. COVID-19 Context: Scattered reports of a dangerous, transmissible disease overseas have revived memories of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
是的，但是：当COVID-19爆发时，这是一种新发现的疾病，科学家们仍在努力了解。鼠疫的研究已经有一个多世纪了，治疗和控制措施已经到位。
Yes, but: When COVID-19 took off, it was a newly identified disease that scientists were still working to understand. Pneumonic plague has been studied for more than a century, with treatments and control measures in place.
放大：COVID-19是由冠状病毒引起的疾病。肺鼠疫是由细菌引起的。
Zoom in: COVID-19 is a disease caused by a coronavirus. The pneumonic plague is caused by a bacterium.
当有人在咳嗽的感染患者周围时，鼠疫通常会在一个人与另一个人之间传播。新冠病毒可以通过几乎没有症状或没有症状的人的空气颗粒传播。
Pneumonic plague generally moves from person to person when someone is around an infected patient who is coughing. COVID can spread through airborne particles from people who show few to no symptoms.
疾病预防控制中心表示，肺鼠疫的社区传播并不常见，而新冠病毒可以在群体中迅速传播，具体取决于疫苗接种和变种。威胁级别：这两种疾病相似，都可以影响肺部，但方式截然不同。然而，肺鼠疫的潜伏期更快，卫生官员更容易确定某人是否生病。
Community spread is uncommon for the pneumonic plague, the CDC says, whereas COVID can spread rapidly through groups, depending on vaccinations and the variant. Threat level: The two diseases are similar in that they can both affect the lungs, but in very different ways. However, pneumonic plague's quicker incubation period makes it easier for health officials to determine if someone is sick.
据世界卫生组织称，接触肺鼠疫的人也可以在出现症状之前接受抗生素。
People exposed to pneumonic plague can receive antibiotics before developing symptoms, too, per WHO.
患有COVID-19的人可能在2至14天内不会出现症状（或者可能根本没有症状）。轻度新冠病例的治疗可以包括抗病毒药物或家庭护理。
Someone with COVID-19 may not show symptoms for two to 14 days (or may have no symptoms at all). Treatment for mild COVID cases can include antivirals or home care.
底线：鼠疫对患者和任何接触过感染者的人来说都是极其危险的。但现代医学，加上口罩和隔离等控制措施，可以遏制威胁。
The bottom line: Pneumonic plague is tremendously dangerous for the patient and for anyone exposed to an infected person. But modern medicine, along with control measures like masks and isolation, can keep the threat at bay.