More than eighteen hundred people have died so far in the second largest Ebola outbreak in history.
到目前为止,已有1800多人死于历史上第二大埃博拉疫情。
But doctors on the front lines now have a new weapon.
但是前线的医生现在有了一个新武器。
Two of them, actually, because a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo revealed two new treatments which can cure the disease.
其实其中有两个,因为刚果共和国的一次临床试验透露了两种可以治愈该疾病的新治疗方法。
The Ebola virus kills about three-quarters of people who don't receive medical care. And obviously, that's a lot.
由于没有得到医疗护理,约有四分之三的患者因埃博拉病毒而亡。显然,人数很多。
But what's really scary how many still die with treatment.
但真正可怕的是有多少人接受治疗后仍然离世。
The standard treatment is a drug called ZMapp, but it only brings the average mortality rate down to 49%.
标准治疗是一种被称为ZMapp的药物,但它只将平均死亡率降至49%。
So in November of 2018, researchers started a clinical trial to test several new drugs.
所以2018年11月,研究人员开始了一项临床试验以测试几种新药物。
One was an antiviral compound called Remdesivir, which is designed to gum up one of the main proteins the virus needs to replicate.
一种是抗病毒化合物—Remdesivir,用于粘住病毒复制所需的主要蛋白质之一。
The other two attack the virus with antibodies:
另外两种用抗体攻击病毒:
proteins made by the immune system which grab onto potential pathogens so they can be destroyed.
由免疫系统产生的蛋白质,能抓住潜在的病原体,使之被消灭。
Antibodies can be very effective treatments if you can get them to stick.
如果能让它们坚持住的话,抗体可以是非常有效的治疗方法。
The trouble with Ebola is that it can change shape and mask itself from the immune system,
埃博拉的问题在于,它可以改变形状,伪装自己避开免疫系统,
so it's been hard to find an antibody that always works.
所以很难发现一直有效的抗体。
So, one biotech company used special animal models to develop three different antibodies,
所以一家生物科技公司利用特殊动物模型开发了三种不同的抗体,
which they then combined to make REGN-EB3 or just EB3. Other researchers looked for solutions in living people.
然后他们可以将三种抗体结合制成REGN-EB3(EB3)。其他研究人员在活着的人中寻找方法。
They managed to clone an antibody from someone who survived an Ebola outbreak in the 90s, and called that mAb114.
他们成功克隆了一种抗体,抗体来自一位在上世纪90年代埃博拉疫情中幸存下来的人,该抗体被称为mAb114。
The trial compared these three new treatments to ZMapp in nearly seven hundred patients over the past nine or so months.
在过去九个月左右的时间里,研究人员在700名患者中将这三种新疗法与ZMapp进行了比较。
And unfortunately, the antiviral didn't do much. The antibodies, though—they were amazing.
不幸的是,抗病毒物质并没起到什么作用,但抗体表现却很惊艳。
A single dose of the lone antibody brought mortality rates down to 34%,
仅一剂量的一种抗体就将死亡率降至了34%,
and one dose of the EB3 cocktail dropped them all the way to 29%.
一剂量的EB3使死亡率直降至29%。
But an even bigger win came for patients who were treated with one of these within three days of getting sick, between 89-94% of them survived!
但更大的胜利是,在染病三天内接受其中一种治疗的病人,他们的存活率在89%到94%之间!
That's so effective that the researchers decided to call off the trial right there so they could give everyone the potential cures.
这种方法非常有效,所以研究人员决定取消这项试验,这样他们就可以给每个人提供潜在的治疗方法。
Now, doctors will start a new trial with just EB3 and mAb114 to see how they compare,
现在医生们将开始只用EB3或mAb114进行临床试验,对它们进行比较,
and both drugs will be made available to people who aren't part of the research.
没有参与研究的人都能使用到这两种药物。
And Ebola isn't the only deadly disease we've gotten closer to curing.
埃博拉并不是唯一一种人类即将治愈的致命疾病。
Just last week, the US FDA approved a new treatment for antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis
就在上一周,美国FDA通过一种治疗耐药结核病的新方法
a critical step towards getting the drugs to where they're needed most. Tuberculosis, or TB, is a bacterial lung infection.
这是将药物送到最需要的地方的关键一步。肺结核(TB)是一种细菌性肺部感染。
And we've had vaccines and antibiotics for it for years now.
多年来我们已经有了针对它的疫苗和抗生素。
But about ten million people around the world still get TB,
但全球仍有约有千万人患上了TB,
and one particular strain is resistant to our usual treatment methods, making it extremely deadly.
其中有一种菌株对我们通常的治疗方法有耐药性,因此它极为致命。
The vast majority of people who contract drug resistant TB die before they're even diagnosed,
但部分患上耐药性TB的人在被诊断前就病死了,
and even with treatment, only 34% of them make it.
即便接受了治疗,存活率也仅为34%。
Plus, that treatment involves taking upwards of 40 pills a day for up to two years, and can have some serious side effects.
另外,这种治疗方法需要患者连续两年每天服用40多颗药,并且会产生一些严重的副作用。
Obviously, it'd be great if we had an easier, more effective option.
显然,如果我们有一种更方便有效的选择会更好。
But developing new antibiotics is really expensive, and few companies are willing to make the investment,
但开发新的抗生素很昂贵,只有几家公司愿意投资
especially when the majority of people with TB are poor and can't afford expensive drugs.
尤其是当大部分TB患者都很贫穷,负担不起高昂的药物。
Luckily, nonprofits like the TB Alliance have stepped up.
幸运的是,像结核病联盟这样的非营利组织已经采取了行动。
And it's thanks to their influx of cash that the antibiotic which just won over the FDA, called pretomanid, was developed.
由于他们大量的资金输入,抗生素才得以研发,这种名为pretomanid的抗生素已获得FDA批准。
A clinical trial of the drug which began in 2015 found that, when pretomanid was combined with two other antibiotics,
对该药物的临床试验开始于2015年,试验发现当pretomanid将两种其他抗生素相结合时
almost 90% of people recovered in six months. And patients only have to take five pills a day!
近90%的病人都在六个月内恢复了。并且病人一天只需服用5片药!
That overwhelming success convinced the FDA to approve of the three-drug regimen.
巨大的成功说服了FDA通过了三种药物治疗方案。
And when the FDA approves of something, international organizations often follow suit. But there are still challenges ahead.
当FDA批准某些东西时,国际组织通常也会照做。但前方仍有挑战。
Bacterial infections like TB are more common in impoverished areas of the world,
像TB这样的细菌感染在世界贫困地区更为普遍,
so antibiotics need to be priced in a way that poorer patients can afford them.
所以抗生素的定价必须符合贫困患者的承受能力。
And even non-profits with the best intentions can run out of money.
即便是怀抱好意的非营利组织都有可能耗尽资金。
So they need to get manufacturers to agree to price the drug reasonably.
所以他们需要让制造商同意合理定价。
Those negotiations are going on right now, so let's all keep our fingers crossed.
那些谈判正在进行中,所以让我们祈祷吧。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow News! But before you go, there's one more thing I'd like to mention.
感谢收看本期《科学秀》!但在你离开前,还有一件事我要提一下。
It's not exactly news, but if you're the kind of person who likes to jazz up your jacket or backpack with an awesome pin,
算不上什么新闻,但是如果你喜欢用别针装饰你的夹克或背包,
you might want to head on over to DFTBA.com/scishow.
可以去DFTBA.com/scishow看看。
Our August Pin of the Month, which features the Curiosity rover, is only on sale for another week!
我们8月份的别针,以好奇号月球车为特色,一个星期后就要下架了!
And I know you don't want to miss out on such a stylish, adorable tribute.
我知道大家一定不想错过这样一个时尚可爱的礼物。