美國波多黎各報告第一例寨卡病毒致死病例

The first known death in the US to the Zika virus has been recorded in Puerto Rico, say health officials.

近日，據衛生部門官員透露，波多黎各方面記錄下了美國第一例寨卡病毒致死案例。

A 70-year-old man infected with the mosquito-borne virus died in February, Puerto Rico's health secretary said. The US territory has recorded more than 600 Zika cases, with 73 of those involving pregnant women.

波多黎各衛生部部長表示，一名70多歲的男性因爲被蚊蟲叮咬而感染了寨卡病毒，並於今年二月份的時候死亡。美國國內記錄在案的感染寨卡病毒的案例已經超過了600起，其中有73起案例中的病患是孕婦。

Zika has been linked to severe birth defects, especially in Latin America, such as babies being born with under-developed brains.

據目前的研究表明，寨卡病毒有可能導致嚴重的先天缺陷，而這一影響在拉丁美洲尤其嚴重，一些嬰兒出生時大腦發育不完全。

Health secretary Ana Rius said all 14 pregnant women infected with Zika who have given birth have healthy babies.

衛生部部長安娜·裏烏斯表示，在記錄在案的感染了寨卡病毒的孕婦中，已經有14人生下了孩子，她們的孩子都很健康。

Seventeen people on the island have been in hospital, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Five are thought to have developed a temporary paralysis condition known as Guillain-Barre because of Zika, although that link is unproven.

據美國疾病防控中心的消息，波多黎各島上有17人已經住院隔離了。其中有5人被診斷爲患上了一種被稱爲Guillain-Barre的暫時性麻痹狀態的病症，儘管尚未被證實，但普遍認爲該病症是由寨卡病毒引起的。

"The patient died of complications related to severe thrombocytopenia," the CDC said. "Although Zika virus-associated deaths are rare, the first identified death in Puerto Rico highlights the possibility of severe cases, as well as the need for continued outreach to raise health care providers' awareness of complications that might lead to severe disease or death."

據疾病防控中心透露：“這名病人死於嚴重的血小板減少症及其他併發症。儘管由寨卡病毒併發症引起的死亡案例很少見，但波多黎各方面報告的這起病例表明，病情嚴重的病患死亡的可能性也很高，而且我們有必要繼續提高衛生醫護人員對於相關併發症的意識，因爲這很有可能會導致嚴重的疾病甚至死亡。”