The rare monkeypox virus, usually confined mostly to Central and West Africa, has spread in unusual ways this year, and among populations that have not been vulnerable in the past.

猴痘病毒非常罕见，通常出现在中非和西非，但今年却以不同寻常的方式在过去不容易感染的人群中传播。

But while the transmissions have created some alarm among officials and infectious disease experts, and while a Covid-weary world is on high alert for new outbreaks, there are several reasons monkeypox is not being treated with the same level of concern as the coronavirus.

但是，尽管这种传播在官员和传染病专家中引起了一些警觉，尽管厌倦了新冠病毒的世界对新疫情保持高度警惕，但因为一些原因，猴痘没有得到与新冠病毒同等程度的关注。

Monkeypox is a virus endemic in parts of Central and West Africa. It is a more benign version of smallpox. It was discovered in 1958, after outbreaks occurred in monkeys kept for research, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

猴痘是中非和西非部分地区流行的一种病毒，是一种较为温和的天花。据美国疾病控制与预防中心的说法，1958年，在用于研究而饲养的猴子中发生疫情后，人们发现了这种病毒。

猴痘会产生一种皮疹，开始是扁平的红斑，然后凸起并充满脓液。感染者还会出现发烧和身体疼痛。症状通常在感染后六至13天出现，但最长可达三周。根据世界卫生组织的数据，病情可能持续二到四周，严重的病例通常发生在儿童当中。

The C.D.C. says there is “no proven, safe treatment” for monkeypox but the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of smallpox vaccines and antiviral treatments to control outbreaks.

疾控中心表示，猴痘“没有经过证实的安全治疗方法”，但美国食品和药物管理局已经批准使用天花疫苗和抗病毒治疗来控制疫情。

Typically it does not lead to major outbreaks — in most years there are just a handful of cases outside Africa, if any. The most severe outbreak in the United States came in 2003, when dozens of cases were linked to exposure to infected prairie dogs and other pets. It was the first time there had been a monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

通常情况下，它不会导致大规模疫情——大多数年份，在非洲以外，就算有病例也是屈指可数。美国最严重的一次疫情发生在2003年，当时出现了数十起病例，与接触受感染的草原犬鼠和其他宠物有关。据世界卫生组织称，这是非洲以外首次出现猴痘疫情。

Within Africa, 11 countries have reported cases since 1970, when the first human case was identified in a 9-year-old boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nigeria has experienced a large outbreak, with more than 500 suspected cases and 200 confirmed cases since 2017, the W.H.O. said.

在非洲，自1970年在刚果民主共和国一名九岁男童身上发现首个人类病例以来，已有11个国家报告了病例。世卫组织表示，尼日利亚经历过一次大规模暴发，自2017年以来，已有超过500多起疑似病例和200起确诊病例。

The virus can spread via body fluids, skin contact and respiratory droplets. “Most cases presented with lesions on the genitalia or peri-genital area, indicating that transmission likely occurs during close physical contact during sexual activities,” the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Friday.

这种病毒可以通过体液、皮肤接触和呼吸道飞沫传播。“大多数患者的生殖器或生殖器周围出现病变，表明可能发生在性活动期间的亲密身体接触中，”欧洲疾病预防与控制中心周五表示。

There had been 38 cases worldwide this year as of Thursday, including 37 with no history of travel to endemic countries, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Britain reported an additional 11 cases on Friday. 

据欧洲疾病预防和控制中心的数据，截至上周四，今年全球已出现38宗病例，其中37人没有前往该病毒流行国家的历史。英国周五又报告了11宗病例。

In the United States, the first case of 2022 was diagnosed in Massachusetts on Wednesday. The man had recently traveled to Canada, which has had two cases this year. On Sunday, public health officials in Florida said they had identified one presumptive case of monkeypox in Broward County in a person who had recently traveled internationally. The person has been placed in isolation, officials said.

美国于上周三在马萨诸塞州发现了2022年的首宗病例。这名男子最近曾经前往加拿大，该国今年发生了两宗病例。周日，佛罗里达州的公共卫生官员表示，他们在布劳沃德县发现了一例猴痘疑似病例，患者最近曾有国际旅行的经历。官员们说，这名男子已被隔离。

The likelihood of the virus being spread during sexual contact is high, but the risk of transmission from other forms of close contact is low, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said. The symptoms are typically mild, and most people recover within weeks, but the virus has had a fatality rate of about 3.3 percent in Nigeria, with children, young adults and immunocompromised people most susceptible.

欧洲疾病预防与控制中心表示，该病毒通过性接触传播的可能性很高，但通过其他形式密切接触传播的风险较低。这种病毒的症状通常很轻微，大多数人会在几周内康复，但在尼日利亚，这种病毒的致死率约为3.3%，儿童、年轻人和免疫功能低下的人最容易感染。

• fatality rate 致死率，fatality/fə'tælɪtɪ/  表示· (疾病的)致命性：· the fact that a particular disease will result in death，比如说：Different forms of cancer have different fatality rates. 不同类型的癌症死亡率也不同。