研究：新冠病毒或藉助大氣污染物顆粒傳播
意大利科學家的最新研究顯示，新冠病毒能夠附着在大氣污染物顆粒上，這或許可以使病毒傳播得更遠，導致更多人感染。
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.
科學家日前在空氣污染物顆粒上發現了新冠病毒，他們正在研究，這是否能使病毒傳播得更遠，並增加感染人數。
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.
這項研究還處於初步階段，目前還不清楚新冠病毒是否能在污染顆粒上存活，以及病毒數量是否足以致病。
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.
意大利科學家使用標準技術在意大利貝加莫省的一個城市和一個工業場所收集了室外空氣污染樣本，並在多個樣本中都發現了一種與新冠病毒有高度特異性的基因。這個發現已經得到另一個獨立實驗室盲測結果的驗證。
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.
意大利博洛尼亞大學的萊昂納多·塞蒂是這項研究的負責人。他說，研究新冠病毒能否通過空氣污染更廣泛地傳播是很重要的。
“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.”
他說：“我是一名科學家，當我不知道答案的時候，我會很擔心。如果我們知道，我們就能找到解決辦法。但如果我們不知道，我們只能承受後果。”
Two other research groups have suggested air pollution particles could help coronavirus travel further in the air.
另外兩個研究小組指出，空氣污染顆粒可能有助於新冠病毒在空氣中傳播得更遠。
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.
塞蒂研究團隊的一項統計分析顯示，意大利北部的部分地區是歐洲空氣污染最嚴重的地區之一，在實施封鎖措施之前，這些地區的大氣顆粒物污染水平較高，而那裏的新冠病毒感染率也較高。另一項初步分析研究也支持了這一發現。
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.
塞蒂研究團隊的這兩項分析結果還沒有經過同行評審，因此尚未得到獨立科學家的認可。但專家們認爲這一結果是合理的，需要進一步調查研究。
peer-reviewed[ˌpɪr rɪˈvjuːd]：adj.經同行評議的
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，大氣顆粒物中確實含有微生物，空氣污染很可能會把導致禽流感、麻疹和口蹄疫的病毒帶到相當遠的地方。
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.
空氣污染顆粒的潛在作用與新冠病毒如何傳播這一更廣泛的問題有關。病毒感染者咳嗽和打噴嚏時，大量攜帶病毒的飛沫落在一兩米內的地面上。但是更小的直徑小於5微米的飛沫可以在空氣中停留幾分鐘到幾小時，並傳播得更遠。
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.
專家們並不確定這些微小的空氣飛沫是否會導致新冠病毒感染，但他們知道2003年的Sars冠狀病毒可以通過空氣傳播，而且新冠病毒可以在微小飛沫中存活數小時。
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.
但研究人員表示，潛在的空氣傳播的重要性，以及污染顆粒可能起到的促進作用，意味着在沒有證據的情況下不能排除這種可能性。
