口罩能预防冠状病毒吗?

口罩能预防冠状病毒吗?

As the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV, now officially called SARS-CoV-2, continues to top headlines, the demand for face masks has sky-rocketed, causing some US and online retailers to run out of stock. Cases are continuing to pop up across the globe and as fears mount, more and more people are turning to masks in an effort to keep themselves safe, but can any of these masks prevent coronavirus?

随着新型冠状病毒2019-nCoV(现在正式名称为SARS-CoV-2)继续占据头条，口罩的需求飙升，导致一些美国和在线零售商的口罩脱销。全球各地的病例仍在不断增加，随着恐惧的加剧，越来越多的人开始使用口罩来保护自己的安全，但这些口罩能预防冠状病毒吗?

The coronavirus family are a group of airborne viruses that are transmitted in a similar way to the flu. You can inhale virus particles after someone who has contracted coronavirus coughs or sneezes, or a sick person may leave traces of the virus on surfaces, which for SARS-CoV-2 we know can survive for up to nine days – a long time compared to most strains of flu that survive for around 24 hours.

冠状病毒是一组通过空气传播的病毒，其传播方式与流感相似。你可以在感染冠状病毒的人咳嗽或打喷嚏后吸入病毒颗粒，或者病人可能在表面留下病毒的痕迹，对于SARS-CoV-2，我们知道这种病毒可以存活下来 长达9天-与大多数流感菌株相比，长时间存活约24小时。

Rachael Funnell

The type of mask seen in the above photo is a standard-issue surgical face mask used by medical practitioners during surgery to prevent the transmission of bacteria and viruses while patients are on the operating table. These are effective at blocking large particles and droplets from transferring through the mask but can’t prevent small virus particles from getting around the edges or landing on the mask. Particles sitting on the mask pose a problem when users take it off, as once the SARS-CoV-2 particles are on your hands, you’re at risk if you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, or leave traces of the virus on objects and surfaces.

上图所示的口罩是一种外科医生在手术中使用的标准口罩，以防止病人在手术台上时细菌和病毒的传播。它们可以有效地阻止大颗粒和液滴通过口罩传播，但不能阻止小病毒颗粒绕过口罩边缘或落在口罩上。当使用者摘下口罩时，口罩上的病毒颗粒会造成问题，因为一旦接触到SARS-CoV-2病毒颗粒，如果接触到眼睛、鼻子或嘴巴，或在物体和表面留下病毒痕迹，就会有风险。

Another kind of mask is the N95 respirator, which is a fitted apparatus designed to block particles by filtering the air as it passes through the mask. When fitted properly, the N95 classification means that the respirator is capable of filtering out at least 95 percent of very small (0.3 micron) particles. These respirators, however, aren’t effective for children or people with facial hair, and even those properly fitted can’t eliminate the risk of infection entirely. These masks can also get uncomfortably warm and the filtering processes can be so efficient it makes it difficult to breathe.

另一种口罩是N95呼吸器，这是一种专门设计的装置，当空气通过口罩时，它可以过滤空气中的微粒。如果正确安装，N95的分类意味着呼吸器能够过滤掉至少95%的非常小的(0.3微米)颗粒。然而，这些呼吸器对儿童和面部有毛发的人无效，即使是那些合适的呼吸器也不能完全消除感染的风险。这些口罩还会让人感到不舒服的温暖，过滤过程可能非常有效，让人难以呼吸。

While neither option appears to be completely foolproof, residents in China are being instructed to wear masks as there’s such a high incidence of the virus in some areas. Even surgical masks can go some way in preventing individuals who do not yet know that they’re sick from spreading virus particles while in public spaces. There have even been reports via Twitter that in some parts of China, people are making bespoke masks to keep their cats safe.

虽然这两种选择似乎都不是万无一失的，但中国的居民被要求戴口罩，因为在一些地区这种病毒的发病率很高。即使是医用口罩也可以在一定程度上防止那些还不知道自己生病的人在公共场所传播病毒粒子。甚至有推特上的报道称，在中国的一些地方，人们正在定制口罩来保护他们的猫。

In areas such as America, where there are still so few reported cases, face masks will achieve little. The best advice is to keep on top of hygiene practices such as regularly washing hands, avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, and sneezing or coughing into a tissue before disposing of it. If you find yourself without a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow to prevent getting the virus on your hands.

在美国这样的地区，报告的病例仍然很少，口罩的作用也不大。最好的建议是保持良好的卫生习惯，比如经常洗手，避免接触眼睛、鼻子或嘴巴，在清理纸巾之前不要对着纸巾打喷嚏或咳嗽。如果你发现自己没有纸巾，咳嗽或打喷嚏到你的肘部，以防止感染病毒。

If you’re still keen to Bane your way through the ongoing crisis, there’s a company putting the “face” in face masks as they launch Face ID compatible respirator masks for those who simply don’t have time to key in their password. You can even opt to have the lower segment of your face captured in a smile for those days when you just can’t but unfortunately you have to.

如果你还想在这场持续的危机中挣扎，有一家公司推出了一款“face”口罩，专为那些没有时间输入密码的人提供与“face ID”兼容的防毒面具。你甚至可以选择让你的下半部分的脸在微笑的时候，你只是不能，但不幸的是，你必须。

And if you want to go one further, in what might be the greatest example of “not all heroes wear capes”, a dedicated daughter in China whose father was unwell donned an inflatable giraffe costume in lieu of a face mask as she headed to the dispensary to collect his medications.

进一步,如果你想去,也许是最伟大的例子,“不是所有英雄穿斗篷”,一个专门在中国的女儿的父亲是不适戴上面罩的充气长颈鹿服装代替她去药房收集他的药物。

There’s hope that this devastating virus will come to an end as a London-based team reported last week that they were testing a vaccine on mice. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Rocky Mountain Laboratories has released images so you can see what SARS-CoV-2 actually looks like.

上周，一个总部位于伦敦的研究小组报告说，他们正在老鼠身上试验一种疫苗，人们希望这种毁灭性的病毒能够结束。与此同时，美国国家过敏和传染病研究所的落基山实验室发布了一些图片，让你可以看到SARS-CoV-2实际上是什么样子。