暗黑之王手游:最新研究揭示：流感为什么会对健康儿童致命

While doctors know that certain chronic illnesses put children at high risk — such as asthma, heart disease, cerebral palsy or mental retardation — they can't predict which healthy children will die from the flu, says study author Adrienne Randolph of Children's Hospital Boston.

       波士顿儿童医院的研究员Adrienne Randolph说：“医生们确切的知道有些慢性疾病（如哮喘、心脏病、脑瘫和智力障碍）会带给儿童极大的危险，但他们不能预期哪些健康儿童会死于流感。”

Her study found only one common risk factor: a simultaneous infection with MRSA, an often-deadly strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. 

       她研究发现高危儿童的共同特点就是：他们同时感染了MRSA，一种极其致命的抗药性耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌。

Many people carry some form of staph bacteria on their skin and in their noses, without falling ill, says Niranjan Bhat, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, who wasn't involved in the new study. Under certain circumstances, however, the bacteria can break out and cause a serious infection, Bhat says. Still, in most cases, doctors can successfully treat these infections with antibiotics. Aggressive types of the bacteria — which can't be killed by antibiotics — can be life-threatening, he says.

       约翰·霍普金斯儿童诊疗中心的助理教授Niranjan Bhat并没有参与这项研究，但他表示：“许多人的皮肤和鼻子中都有这种葡萄球菌，但他们并未生病。然而在一个特定的环境下，这些细菌将会爆发威力并引起其它的感染。大部分时候医生都能用抗生素治疗细菌，但当抗生素失效时，这些细菌将是致命的。”

MRSA, while rare, is becoming more common among children. A 2010 study in Pediatrics found that the number of children hospitalized for MRSA infection grew by more than 10 times from 1999 to 2008, increasing from 0.02% to 2.1% of hospital admissions. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming more common as people overuse antibiotics or use them improperly to treat viral illnesses, Randolph says.

       Randolph说：“MRSA这种罕见的细菌正在儿童中变得越来越常见。2010年的一项研究显示，因为感染MRSA而住院的儿童比1999年-2008年增长了10倍，由住院儿童的0.02%增长到2.1%。人们大量使用抗生素和不正确的治疗方法是导致抗药性细菌变得越来越普遍的主要原因。”

Most of the children infected with MRSA were treated with the antibiotic of choice, a powerful drug called vancomycin that's reserved for the most serious infections, the study says. Authors say it is worrisome that some children died anyway, despite getting the drug.

       研究显示，大部分感染MRSA的儿童都被使用一种极强的叫做万古霉素的药物进行治疗。不过作者说：“这仍然令人担忧，尽管已经使用了万古霉素，但无论如何孩子们还是死了。”

A total of 282 children died of flu during the 2009-10 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the 2010-11 season, 116 children died.

       美国疾病预防与控制中心的数据显示，2009年-2010年的流感季节中有282名儿童死于流感，而在2010年-2011年的流感季节这一数字为116。

From 3,000 to 49,000 Americans of all ages die of the flu each year, according to the CDC.

       CDC的数据显示，所有年龄段的美国人每年死于流感的人数从3000-49000不等。

The study underscores the need for everyone over the age of 6 months to get an annual flu shot, says co-author Timothy Uyeki, of the CDC. People who become ill with a suspected case of flu also should get antiviral drugs immediately, he says.

       CDC的Timothy Uyeki说：“这项研究明确了所有6个月的以下的儿童，每年都应该注射流感疫苗。当一个人出现流感疑似症状是应该马上使用抗病毒药物。”

Deaths were especially high during the first year of pandemic H1N1 influenza, because the virus struck before flu shots were available, Bhat says.

       Bhat说：“H1N1流感爆发的第一年，感染者死亡率特别高的主要是因为当时还没有相应的疫苗。”