在反vax的错误信息之后，英国腮腺炎病例达到了十年来的最高水平

在反vax的错误信息之后，英国腮腺炎病例达到了十年来的最高水平

Mumps is making a major comeback in England, with some of the highest numbers of cases in a decade. While the reasons behind the increase are complex, experts are saying the resurgence has a clear link with misinformation about vaccinations and the bitter legacy of disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield.

腮腺炎正在英国卷土重来，病例的数量达到了十年来的最高水平。尽管增长背后的原因很复杂，但专家们表示，疫苗接种的错误信息，以及名誉扫地的医生安德鲁·韦克菲尔德留下的痛苦遗产，与这种复苏有着明显的联系。

Preliminary data from Public Health England (PHE) shows there were 5,042 confirmed cases of mumps in England in 2019, compared to just 1,066 cases in 2018. It’s a trend that’s set to continue too, with 546 confirmed cases in January 2020 compared to 191 in January 2019.

英国公共卫生(PHE)的初步数据显示，2019年英国有5042例腮腺炎确诊病例，而2018年只有1066例。这一趋势还将继续，2020年1月确诊病例为546例，而2019年1月为191例。

Tom Hale

Mumps is a viral infection that causes symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, and a headache. This is usually followed by painful swelling of the salivary glands, causing the face to balloon up. It can also cause serious complications, such as male infertility, meningitis, and deafness. The infection can be prevented through two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. While the mumps component of the shot is less effective than the others and protection is known to wear off, the illness is usually much less severe in vaccinated people.

腮腺炎是一种病毒感染，会引起发烧、肌肉疼痛和头痛等症状。这通常伴随着唾液腺的疼痛肿胀，导致面部肿胀。它还会引起严重的并发症，如男性不育、脑膜炎和耳聋。这种感染可以通过两剂麻疹、腮腺炎和风疹(MMR)疫苗来预防。尽管疫苗中的腮腺炎成分不如其他成分有效，而且已知其保护作用会逐渐消失，但这种疾病在接种疫苗的人群中通常要轻得多。

PHE says most of the recent cases have emerged from outbreaks in universities and colleges among young adults who missed out on the MMR jab in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Likely by no coincidence, Andrew Wakefield released his "fraudulent" study that falsely linked the MMR vaccine to the onset of autism in 1998. The paper has since been dubbed "the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years" and has been retracted from the journal it was originally published in.

公共卫生部门说，最近的大多数病例出现在大学和学院里的年轻人中，他们在20世纪90年代末和21世纪初错过了接种MMR疫苗。可能并非巧合的是，Andrew Wakefield在1998年发表了他的“欺骗性”研究，错误地将MMR疫苗与自闭症的发病联系起来。这篇论文被称为“过去100年来最具破坏性的医学骗局”，并已从最初发表的期刊上撤回。

While the findings of this paper have been wholly debunked, the study resulted in a slump in vaccination rates in many countries and helped spawn the “anti-vax” movement. As this resurgence shows, we are still feeling the fallout of the “Wakefield effect”.

尽管这篇论文的发现完全被揭穿了，但这项研究导致许多国家的疫苗接种率大幅下降，并帮助催生了“反vax”运动。正如这次复苏所显示的，我们仍然感受着“韦克菲尔德效应”的余波。

“Many of the people who are developing mumps now were due to have the vaccine when the scare about MMR was at its height," commented Dr David Elliman, Consultant in Community Child Health.

社区儿童健康顾问David Elliman博士评论道:“当MMR恐慌达到顶峰时，许多腮腺炎患者本应接种疫苗。”

Mumps is not the only preventable disease on the increase again. Scarlet fever, whooping cough, and gout might sound like archaic diseases from Victorian London, but they are also experiencing a notable resurgence in the UK. Many parts of the world are also undergoing a meteoric rise of measles cases too. Once again, the causes of this are multi-faceted and complicated, but measles epidemics in western countries are often closely associated with anti-vaccination misinformation.

腮腺炎并不是唯一可以预防的疾病。猩红热、百日咳和痛风听起来像是维多利亚时代伦敦的古老疾病，但它们在英国也有显著的复苏。世界上许多地方也正在经历麻疹病例的迅速增加。再一次，造成这种情况的原因是多方面和复杂的，但在西方国家，麻疹流行往往与反疫苗接种的错误信息密切相关。

“The rise in mumps cases is alarming and yet another example of the long-term damage caused by anti-vax information,” Matt Hancock, the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said in a statement.

英国卫生和社会保健大臣马特·汉考克在一份声明中说:“腮腺炎病例的增加令人担忧，这是反vax信息所造成的长期损害的又一个例子。”

“Science proves that vaccines are the best form of defence against a host of potentially deadly diseases and are safer and more effective than ever before," Hancock added. "Those who claim otherwise are risking people’s lives.”

汉考克补充说:“科学证明，疫苗是抵御一系列潜在致命疾病的最佳方式，比以往任何时候都更安全、更有效。”“那些不这么说的人是在拿人民的生命冒险。”