英國專家：巴塞羅那的病毒發現動搖新冠病毒流行假設_風聞

原標題：英國專家：巴塞羅那的病毒發現動搖新冠病毒流行假設

　　Editor‘s note： Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities。 He writes on topics pertaining to China， the DPRK， Britain and the U.S。 The article reflects the author‘s opinions， and not necessarily the views of CGTN。

　　編者按：湯姆•福迪（Tom Fowdy）是英國政治與國際關係分析員，畢業於英國杜倫大學和牛津大學，主要針對與中國、朝鮮、英國和美國相關的話題撰寫評論。本文僅為作者本人觀點。

　　On Saturday， news emerged that Spanish virologists had discovered purported traces of the COVID-19 virus in samples of Barcelona wastewater that were collected in March 2019。 The team at the University of Barcelona had been testing sewage since April in order to identify new potential outbreaks of the virus and subsequently found what they believe to be its genome from that sample over a year ago。

　　週六，有消息稱西班牙病毒學家在2019年3月收集的巴塞羅那廢水樣本中發現了新冠病毒的痕跡。從今年四月份開始，巴塞羅那大學的該研究小組一直對污水進行檢測，以確定可能發生的新疫情，但他們卻從一年多以前的樣本中發現了他們認為是新冠病毒基因組的物質。

　　“The levels of SARS-CoV-2 were low but were positive，” scientist Albert Bosch told the media。 Although more testing is needed to ensure the result is not a false positive， the finding was nevertheless described as “suggestive” and has been submitted for peer review。

　　科學家阿爾伯特•博施（Albert Bosch）告訴媒體，“新型冠狀病毒SARS-CoV-2的含量不高，但檢測呈陽性。”雖然還需要做更多的檢測來確保不是假陽性，但這一發現仍然被認為具有“揭示意義”，並且已經提交給同行審議。

　　It is too early to draw large-scale conclusions from the development， but it should nonetheless be used to question our deepest-held assumptions。 We are ultimately still learning about this virus and where it came from。

　　雖然從該發現中得出全面結論還為時尚早，但它應該被用來質疑那些我們所篤信的，但無確切根據的觀點。歸根到底，我們仍在不斷了解這種病毒及其來源。

　　Scientifically， there is no comprehensive answer concerning its development。 Certain actors， however， have sought to pinpoint the virus directly to make certain cultural and political points。 

　　對於新冠病毒的演化，目前尚不存在科學、全面的解釋。但某些人卻試圖對此下定論，以做出某種文化和政治上的暗示。

　　This study suggests that the story behind COVID-19 may not be as clear or as simple as initially thought。 Science must lead the way in determining its origin， which may challenge our popular assumptions and reasoning。

　　該研究表明，新冠肺炎疫情的發生過程可能並不像我們最初認為的那樣簡單明瞭。病毒溯源工作必須遵循科學規律，這可能會挑戰大眾的一些既定假設和推理。

　　The precise origin of COVID-19 is not scientifically certain。 What experts know is that the genome behind the virus is of a zoonotic origin， which at some point crossed the species barrier via an unknown intermediate host and mutated into something contagious to humans。

　　新冠病毒的具體源頭還沒有科學上的確切解釋。專家們根據基因組分析結果得知，該病毒是一種動物源性病毒，在某一時間通過某種未知中間宿主跨越了物種壁壘併發生變異，獲得感染人類的能力。

　　However， the circumstances as to how it specifically emerged are yet to be determined and remain a mystery on a scientific and research level。 While the development of a cluster of cases at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan has received repeated attention as the purported point and time of origin， this is also not established scientific consensus。

　　然而，病毒具體是在何種情況下出現的目前還沒有定論，在科研方面也還是一個謎團。雖然反覆被推至輿論風口浪尖的武漢華南海鮮市場所出現的聚集性感染被視作疫情起點，但對此科學界並未達成共識。

　　Prof。 Stephen Turner， head of the department of microbiology at Melbourne‘s Monash University， told The Guardian back in April： “I don’t think it‘s conclusive by any means，” while Donna Lu， writing in the New Scientist magazine the same month， also highlighted the mysteries regarding the certainty of its precise origin。  

　　澳大利亞莫納什大學微生物系負責人史蒂芬•特納（Stephen Turner）教授四月份對《衞報》表示，“我不認為這一説法是確切結論。”此外，《新科學人》雜誌記者唐娜•盧（Donna Lu）在其當月撰寫的文章中也強調，關於病毒的確切來源目前仍存在許多疑團。

　　Medical workers pay a silent tribute to martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） outbreak and compatriots who died of the disease， at Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan， central China‘s Hubei Province， April 4， 2020。 /Xinhua

　　The rest， of course， is all political narrative， with the “China virus” line having been hammered by politicians， media outlets and other non-scientific actors who have sought to weaponize a stigmatic blame game against the country and thrive on culturalist and ideological tropes to draw pre-determined conclusions。

　　科學以外的部分就都帶有政治動機了。例如，某些政客、媒體和非科學機構反覆稱新冠病毒為“中國病毒”，意圖借污名化和甩鍋遊戲攻擊中國並利用文化和意識形態上的偏見得出預設結論。

　　The public， of course， always wants immediate， simple answers and in general lacks the patience， rationality， foresight and perspective of professional scientists。 As a result， the new Barcelona findings are suggestive in reminding us that the prevailing public “ideas” concerning the virus are not helpful or informative at all。

　　當然，公眾一向喜歡簡單直白的答案，並且大都缺乏專業科學傢俱備的耐心、理性、遠見和思考方法。因此，巴塞羅那的這一新發現是具有揭示意義的。它提醒我們，公眾對該病毒的普遍“想法”既無任何幫助，也不代表事實。

　　The potential presence of virus genomes existing a year previously in Spain does not of course give us new conclusions or consensus regarding the origins of COVID-19， it does not mean it “originated” there merely by having a presence， but by showing it at an earlier location， at an earlier time， serves to question the prevailing public logic across the world。

　　西班牙一年前就可能存在新冠病毒的這一發現當然不能讓我們針對病毒來源得出任何新的結論或共識，因為僅僅存在於某處並不代表“起源”於該處。但證明其在更早的時間存在於另一地點卻能夠對目前全球公眾普遍持有的觀點提出質疑。

　　In this case， the development serves to remind the world that we cannot be armchair experts in virology and we do not know as much about the virus as we think。 Because what is a very simple and straightforward word， “virus，” for the public， is in fact an extremely complex and often immeasurable subject for actual scientists。

　　因此，該發現提醒世界，對於病毒，紙上談兵是不夠的。而且，我們對病毒的瞭解也並不像想象的那樣全面。因為公眾眼中簡簡單單的“病毒”一詞，對於真正的科學家而言卻是一項極其複雜又常常難以琢磨的課題。

　　Thus， understanding and mapping out COVID-19 is a timely process of discovery， which， owing to the mood and emotions of the public， may not always tell people the “stories” that they have assumed or even want to hear。 This is why a scientific determination must come before a political one。

　　對新冠病毒來源和演化的研究是一個不斷探索的過程，並不會根據大眾的情緒和情感帶給他們所預設的，甚至是希望聽到的解釋。正因如此，科學的結論必須高於政治的考量。