The first sign was a feeling of general apprehension, which soon led to shivers, pains, and headaches. Then the perspiration set in. The victims would be swamped by a torrent of sweat, which led to insatiable thirst and delirium. Finally, they’d feel an overwhelming urge to sleep. If they succumbed, they’d likely end up dead. The fatality rate was up to 50%.
此病最初的癥狀是一種莫名的緊張不適，很快開始寒顫、疼痛和頭痛，然后開始出汗。患者出汗量很大，從而導致極度口渴和精神錯亂。最后，他們會感到極度嗜睡。如果沒能扛住，最終可能會死亡。此病死亡率高達50%。
Dubbed “The English Sweat”, this alarming malady swept across the city, killing 15,000 people in just six weeks. Eventually the epidemic fizzled out, but not before it had spread to Europe, leaving plenty of mourners in its wake.
這種令人驚恐被稱為“英國汗熱病”(The English Sweat) 的瘟疫席卷倫敦，短短6周就導致15000人喪命。雖然瘟疫最終銷聲匿跡，但在此之前曾蔓延到歐洲，留下大量失去親人的哀悼者。
To this day, no one has any clear idea what caused the mysterious English Sweat. But the leading theory is that this mega-outbreak wasn’t caused by the flu, Ebola, or any of the infamous diseases we often hear about.
時至今日，沒有人清楚是什么導致了這種神秘的英國汗熱病。但主導理論認為，該病的大爆發(fā)不是由流感(flu)病毒、埃博拉病毒(Ebola)、或任何我們經(jīng)常聽到的臭名昭著的病原體引起的。
Instead, the culprit was a type of hantavirus – a rare family of viruses that typically infect rodents.
其罪魁禍首是漢坦病毒(hantavirus)，屬於一種罕見的病毒科，通常經(jīng)嚙齒類動物傳播。
It may have been centuries since the dreaded sweating sickness of 1485, but we can still learn from the past. The flu is seen as a likely candidate for the next pandemic – not the only candidate. And if the scientists have got it right, failing to take D-list viruses seriously could be a catastrophic mistake.
距離1485年那場可怕的汗熱病已過了幾個世紀，但我們?nèi)匀豢梢詮倪@一瘟疫吸取教訓。流感病毒被認為可能是造成下一次瘟疫大爆發(fā)的候選兇手——但流感病毒不會是唯一的候選者。如果科學家們是對的，未能認真對待那些致命病毒可能是災難性的錯誤。
