新奇事件簿 科学家希望找到治疗蛇咬伤的方法（在线收听）

Scientists are hoping to find a universal cure for snakebite. Experts on snakebite venom in India, Kenya, Nigeria, the UK and the USA are working together on a possible cure. They are using the same technology that was used to discover HIV anti-bodies. The scientists are trying to find ways of using human anti-bodies to fight against snake venom. At the moment, snakebite is treated using anti-venom which adapts the actual venom from the snake. Professor Robert Harrison, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said: "We're pursuing what we call the 'next generation' of snakebite therapies, which we hope will be able to treat bites from any snake in Africa or India."

科学家们希望找到一种治疗蛇咬伤的通用方法。印度、肯尼亚、尼日利亚、英国和美国的蛇毒专家正在共同研究一种可能的治疗方法。他们使用的技术与发现HIV抗体的技术相同。科学家们试图寻找利用人体抗体对抗蛇毒的方法。目前，蛇咬伤的治疗使用的是抗蛇毒素，这种抗蛇毒素提取自蛇的毒液。利物浦热带医学院的罗伯特·哈里森教授表示：“我们正在研究所谓的‘下一代’蛇咬伤疗法我们希望这种疗法能够治疗非洲或印度任何一种毒蛇的咬伤。”

Snakebites kill up to 140,000 people a year. More people die from snakebite than from infectious diseases like rabies or dengue fever. A further 400,000 people suffer life-changing injuries after being bitten by a snake. These injuries include amputations and psychological trauma. There are about 250 types of snake worldwide that have harmful venom. The venom from these snakes is very different, which makes finding anti-venoms very challenging for scientists. Former Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, describes snakebite as, "the biggest public health crisis you have likely never heard of". However, people who get the right anti-venom have a very high chance of survival.

每年多达140000人死于蛇咬伤。死于蛇咬伤的人比死于狂犬病或登革热等传染病的人还要多。更有40万人被蛇咬伤后遭遇了改变人生的伤痛。这些伤害包括截肢和心理创伤。全球约有250种蛇含有有害毒液。这些蛇的毒液各不相同，这使得寻找抗毒液对科学家来说非常具有挑战性。联合国前秘书长科菲·安南称毒蛇咬伤是“大家或许从未听说过的最大的公共健康危机”。但注射正确抗蛇毒素的人生存几率非常高。