人類最好的朋友是元兇？ 加拿大研究新冠病毒由「狗傳人」

【看英文中國郵報學英文】來自加拿大的一份研究指出，人類最好的朋友「狗狗」竟是造成震盪世界數個月、造成無數死亡流行病的元兇。

A new research from Canada recently indicated that “man’s best friend” could possibly be the innocent perpetrator behind the spread of COVID-19.

加拿大渥太華大學研究團隊報告提出，中國流浪狗吃了被人丟棄的蝙蝠肉後，將病毒間接傳染給人類，這項研究顛覆了社會普遍認定「穿山甲」為傳染媒介的既定印象。

Experts from the University of Ottawa say that stray dogs may have consumed discarded bat meat and passed on the virus to humans; thus, overthrowing the original assumption of pangolins being the intermediary animal.

自去年12月開始，各國專家即投入研究，希望能找出將病毒傳染給人類的「中間宿主媒介動物」，以助疫苗研發。

Since December 2019, experts from all over the world have dedicated themselves to finding the intermediary animal to produce a vaccine for humans.

負責分析新型冠狀病毒基因體的加拿大研究人員認為，僅有藉由狗狗傳人的這項推論能解釋他們的發現。

A researcher responsible for analyzing the virus responsible for COVID-19 claims that the only explanation that could explain their findings is that dogs infected humans.

然而，這項研究引發不少批評，一位研究者指控研究「太過武斷且缺乏直接的數據。」

However, this research was met with some criticism, with one claiming that it was “far too much inference and far too little direct data.”

研究報告作者生物學家Xuhua Xia表示，我們的觀察能形成對於最初感染源的全新假設。新冠病毒的祖先、近親是蝙蝠身上的冠狀病毒，經狗狗腸胃後，很可能導致病毒迅速演化，再傳染人類。

The author of the study, biologist Xuhua Xia, said that the team’s observations could shape a new hypothesis for the original source of the virus. He theorized that the virus had come from bats and gone through dogs’ stomachs causing it to mutate and evolve. Then, it infected humans.

此研究團隊是根據從各物種取下的化學特徵來做分析，種類包括蝙蝠、穿山甲、狗、蛇和人類，才得到此結論。

The research team based its conclusions on the analysis of chemical features from bats, pangolins, dogs, snakes and humans.

※ Reminder: Taiwan CDC asks travelers who show symptoms, such as fever or cough, upon arriving in Taiwan to wear a surgical mask and seek immediate medical attention. In addition, foreigners should inform authorities of any history of travel, occupation and contacts to facilitate timely diagnosis and prompt case-reporting. Call the toll-free number of the Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).

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