Dry air and infections

by Leah Binder

While practicing pediatric oncology at a major teaching hospital, Stephanie Taylor, Harvard Medical School graduate and lecturer, wondered why so many of her young patients came down with infections and the flu, despite the hospital's herculean（费力的） efforts at prevention.

practice /ˈpræktɪs/ v. （医生、律师等）执业
pediatric oncology 儿童肿瘤学
major /ˈmeɪdʒə(r)/ adj. 主要的
graduate /ˈɡrædʒuət/ n. 毕业生
lecturer /ˈlektʃ(ə)rə(r)/ n. 大学讲师
come down 倒下、病倒
infection /ɪnˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 感染
flu /fluː/ n. 流感
prevention /prɪˈvenʃ(ə)n/ n. 预防（由prevent加后缀-ion变成名词）

She and colleagues studied 370 patients in one unit of a hospital to try to isolate the factors associated with patient infections. They tested and retested 8 million data points controlling for every variable they could think of to explain the likelihood of infection. Was it hand hygiene, fragility（虚弱程度） of the patients, or room cleaning procedures?

isolate /ˈaɪsəleɪt/ v. 分离
factor /ˈfæktə(r)/ n. 因素
associate /əˈsəʊsieɪt/ v. 联系、关联
retest /riːˈtest/ v. 再次测试（由test加上表示再次的前缀re-）
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
variable /ˈveəriəb(ə)l/ n. 变量
likelihood /ˈlaɪklihʊd/ n. 可能性
hygiene /ˈhaɪdʒiːn/ n. 卫生
procedure /prəˈsiːdʒə(r)/ n. 流程、步骤

While all those factors had modest influence, one factor stood out above them all, and it was dry air. At low relative humidity, indoor air was strongly associated with higher infection rates.

modest /ˈmɒdɪst/ adj. 不大的
influence /ˈɪnfluəns/ n. 影响
stand out 远超同类
relative /ˈrelətɪv/ adj. 相对的
humidity /hjuːˈmɪdəti/ n. 湿度（由humid加后缀-ity变成名词）
strongly /ˈstrɒŋli/ adv. 强烈地（由strong加后缀-ly变成副词）
rate /reɪt/ n. 率、比率

"When we dry the air out, droplets and skin flakes（碎屑） carrying viruses and bacteria are launched into the air, traveling far and over long periods of time. The microbes that survive this launching tend to be the ones that cause healthcare-associated infections," said Taylor. "Even worse, in addition to this increased exposure to infectious particles, the dry air also harms our natural immune barriers which protect us from infections."

dry out 使干燥
droplet /ˈdrɒplət/ n. 液滴
virus /ˈvaɪərəs/ n. 病毒
bacterium /bækˈtɪəriəm/ n. 细菌、病菌（bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ 是复数）
launch /lɔːntʃ/ v. 发射、散发出
microbe /ˈmaɪkrəʊb/ n. 微生物（尤指致病的细菌、病毒等）
survive /səˈvaɪv/ v. 存活
tend /tend/ v. 倾向于
cause /kɔːz/ n. 造成
healthcare /ˈhelθkeə(r)/ n. 健康照护、医疗服务（由health和care组成）
in addition to 除了
exposure /ɪkˈspəʊʒə(r)/ n. （无防护的）接触（有害物质）
infectious /ɪnˈfekʃəs/ adj. 传染性的
particle /ˈpɑːtɪk(ə)l/ n. 微粒
harm /hɑːm/ v. 伤害、危害
immune /ɪˈmjuːn/ adj. 免疫的
barrier /ˈbæriə(r)/ n. 屏障

Scientists attribute the influence of dry air to a new understanding about the behavior of airborne（经空气传播的） particles, or "infectious aerosol（飞沫） transmissions." They used to assume the microbes in desiccated（脱水的） droplets were dead, but advances in the past several years changed that thinking.

attribute /əˈtrɪbjuːt/ something to 把某事归因于
or /ɔː(r)/ conj. 也就是
transmission /trænzˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 传送、传染
assume /əˈsjuːm/ v. 设想、认为
advance /ədˈvɑːns/ n. 进步

"With new genetic analysis tools, we are finding out that most of the microbes are not dead at all. They are simply dormant（蛰伏的） while waiting for a source of rehydration（补水）," Taylor explained. "Humans are an ideal source of rehydration, since we are basically 60% water. When a tiny infectious particle lands on or in a patient, the pathogen（病原体） rehydrates（补水） and begins the infectious cycle all over again."

genetic /dʒəˈnetɪk/ adj. 基因的
analysis /əˈnæləsɪs/ n. 分析
simply /ˈsɪmpli/ adv. 仅仅、只不过
source /sɔːs/ n. 来源、源头
ideal /aɪˈdɪəl/ adj. 理想的
basically /ˈbeɪsɪk(ə)li/ adv. 基本上（由basic加后缀-ally变成副词）
cycle /ˈsaɪk(ə)l/ n. 循环
all over again 重头再来

According to her research, and subsequent studies in the medical literature, the "sweet spot" for indoor air is between 40% and 60% relative humidity. Every hospital, school, and home should adjust room hydration（含水量） to the sweet spot, according to Taylor. She travels the country speaking with healthcare and business groups to urge adoption of the 40%–60% relative humidity standard.

subsequent /ˈsʌbsɪkwənt/ adj. 随后的
medical /ˈmedɪk(ə)l/ adj. 医学的
literature /ˈlɪtrətʃə(r)/ n. 文献
sweet spot 指效果最好的点
adjust /əˈdʒʌst/ v. 调整、调节
urge /ɜːdʒ/ v. 敦促
adoption /əˈdɒpʃ(ə)n/ n. 采纳（由adopt加后缀-ion变成名词）
standard /ˈstændəd/ n. 标准

Taylor practices what she preaches. "My husband has ongoing respiratory（呼吸的） problems and had at least one serious illness each winter. Ever since we started monitoring our indoor relative humidity and keeping it around 40%, even when using our wood stove, he has not been sick. Our dogs also love it because they do not get static electricity shocks when being petted in the wintertime!"

practise what you preach /priːtʃ/ 言行一致、身体力行
ongoing /ˈɒŋˌɡəʊɪŋ/ adj. 持续存在的
monitor /ˈmɒnɪtə(r)/ v. 监控
static /ˈstætɪk/ electricity 静电
shock /ʃɒk/ n. 电击
pet /pet/ v. 抚摸宠物
wintertime /ˈwɪntətaɪm/ n. 冬季

英文原文节选自Forbes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahbinder/2019/10/17/harvard-researcher-says-this-inexpensive-action-will-lower-hospital-infection-rates-and-protect-us-for-the-flu-season/