Anecdotal1reportsoflong-lastingillnesshavebeenaroundsincetheearlydaysofthepandemic.Butwithmorethan22mcasesconfirmedworldwide,andwithinfectionrateshavingpeakedseveralmonthsagoinmostrichcountries,statisticalpatternsaboutthevirus’slingeringeffectsarestartingtoemerge.ApaperintheBritishMedicalJournalonAugust11thconcludedthatasmanyas60,peopleinBritainhavelong-termsymptoms.Yetonlyabout6%ofBritain’spopulation—around4mpeople—seemstohavebeeninfectedwiththevirussofar.
自疫情初期以来，关于长期病的轶事报道就已经出现。但是，随着全世界确诊的病例超过万，并且大多数富裕国家的感染率在几个月前达到峰值，有关这种病毒持续影响的统计模式开始出现。8月11日，《英国医学杂志》上的一篇论文得出结论，英国多达6万人患有长期症状。然而到目前为止，只有大约6%的英国人口——大约万人——感染了这种病毒。
1.Anecdotal:/??n?k?d??tl/basedonanecdotesandpossiblynottrueoraccurate逸事的；趣闻的；传闻的
Severityoftheillnessisonepredictor2oflastingproblems.IanHall,thedirectoroftheBiomedicalResearchCentreattheUniversityofNottingham,reckonsthat30-50%ofpatientshospitalisedwithcovid-19havesignificantsymptomssixtoeightweeksaftertheyhavebeendischarged3.ThatnumberrisesfurtherforpatientswhowereadmittedtoanICU.Buteventhosewhoescapedwithamildillness,likeLaura,areatrisk.Morethan10%ofthemremainunwellformorethanthreeweeks,accordingtoapatient-trackingstudythatfollowsmostlyAmericanandBritishpatients.Theystrugglewithfatigue,breathlessness,bodyachesandcognitiveproblemswhichmanydescribeas“brainfog”(seechart2).
疾病的严重程度预示着问题的持久性。诺丁汉大学生物医学研究中心主任伊恩·霍尔（IanHall）估计，30-50%的感染了covid-19的患者在出院后的6到8周内出现明显症状。这一数字在入住ICU的患者中进一步上升。但即使是那些像劳拉这样因症状轻微逃脱的人也有危险。根据一项主要跟踪美国和英国患者的患者跟踪研究，超过10%的人身体不适超过3周。他们与疲劳、呼吸困难、身体疼痛和许多人称之为“脑雾”的认知问题作斗争。
2.Predictor:/pr??d?kt?(r)/omethingthatcanshowwhatwillhappeninthefuture预测器；预示物
3.Discharge:togivesbofficialpermissiontoleaveaplaceorjob;tomakesbleaveajob准许（某人）离开；解雇
Somelong-termcovid-19patientsmaybesufferingfromundiagnosedconditionssuchasdiabetesorthyroid4dysfunction,whichare“unmasked”bytheinfection,saysAvindraNathoftheNationalInstitutesofHealthinAmerica.Forothers,thecollectionofsymptomsissuggestively5similartothoseseeninchronicfatiguesyndrome(CFS).ThebiologicalcausesofCFSarestillpoorly6understood,butdatafromAmericaindicatethatthree-quartersofcasesfollowviralorbacterialinfections.Onehypothesisisthatthesyndromeiscausedbytheimmunesystemfailingtoproperlystanddown7afterbeingcalledontobattleaninfection.ItmaybethatSARS-CoV2,thevirusthatcausescovid-19,isunusuallylikelytoprovokesuchalingeringover-reaction.
美国国立卫生研究院的AvindraNath说，一些新冠肺炎的长期患者可能患有糖尿病或甲状腺功能障碍等未被诊断的疾病，这些疾病由于感染而“暴露”出来。对其他人来说，症状的收集与慢性疲劳综合征（CFS）中的症状相似。CFS的生物学原因仍不清楚，但来自美国的数据表明，四分之三的病例是由病毒或细菌感染引起的。一种假设是，这种综合征是由于免疫系统在被要求与感染作斗争后未能正常停止工作而引起的。可能是导致covid-19的SARS-CoV2病毒异常有可能引发这种持续的过度反应。
4.Thyroid:/?θa?r??d/甲状腺
5.Suggestive:/s??d?est?v/remindingyouofsthormakingyouthinkaboutsth使人想起…的；引起联想的
6.Poorly:/?p??li/inawaythatisnotgoodenough糟糕地；不如意；不足
7.Standdown:toleaveajoborposition离职；退职；下台
Iftheroot8causeisnotknown,thenthegrowingunderstandingofjustwhatcovid-19candotothebodycanatleastsuggestwhatsortsofcarelong-termsufferersmayneed.Thehallmark9ofmanycovid-19casesisdamagetothelungs.Aggressive10inflammation11leadstothedestructionoflungtissueandtheformationofscars.Thescarring,inturn,impedes12theflowofoxygenfromthelungsintotheblood.Thatcancausebreathlessness,evenwithlight13exercise.Smallstudiesofcovid-19patientsdischargedfromhospitalshavefoundthat25-30%haveimpairedoxygenflow.
如果根本原因还不清楚，那么随着人们对新冠肺炎对人体影响的了解不断加深，至少可以建议长期患者可能需要什么样的护理。许多新冠肺炎病例的特征是肺部损伤。侵略性的炎症导致肺组织的破坏和疤痕的形成。伤疤反过来又阻碍氧气从肺部流入血液。这会导致呼吸困难，即使是轻微的运动。医院出院的covid-19患者进行的小型研究发现，25-30%的患者氧流量受损。
8.Root:themaincauseofsth,suchasaproblemordifficultsituation根源；起因
9.Hallmark:/?h??lmɑ?k/afeatureorqualitythatistypicalofsb/sth特征；特点
10.Aggressive:/??ɡres?v/actingwithforceanddeterminationinordertosucceed气势汹汹的；声势浩大的；志在必得的
11.Inflammation:/??nfl??me??n/发炎；炎症
12.Impede:/?m?pi?d/todelayorstoptheprogressofsth阻碍；阻止
13.Light:easytodo;notmakingyoutired容易做的；轻松的；不使人疲劳的
Theprognosis14isunclear.PeopletreatedinICUsforotherviralinfectionsusuallyrecoverabout80%oftheirpreviouslungfunctionfairlyquickly,butthefinal20%cantakethreetosixmonths,saysDrHall.Andinsomecaseslungscarringcanworsenovertime,especiallyif