经济学人下载:沉冤得雪的黄瓜

E. coli in Germany
德国的大肠杆菌疫情

Don't shoot the cucumber
沉冤得雪的黄瓜

A deadly outbreak in Hamburg causes ripples round Europe
爆发在汉堡的致命性疫情引发欧洲震荡

Jun 2nd 2011 | BERLIN | from the print edition

SEVENTEEN deaths, some 1,500 confirmed or suspected cases and hundreds of millions of euros in losses: the outbreak of E. coli infections in northern Germany is causing havoc across Europe. The culprit is an especially nasty strain of E. coli, which normally resides harmlessly in the gut. Type O104:H4 can cause bloody diarrhoea, convulsions and, most lethally, haemolytic-uraemic syndrome, which attacks the kidneys. Nearly all the dead are women. Nobody knows why.

7人死亡，约1500例确认或者疑似病例，数以亿计欧元的经济损失：在德国北部爆发的大肠杆菌疫情让整个欧洲都陷入了一片混乱。罪魁祸首是特别恶心的大肠杆菌族的一种，通常情况下驻于肠内且对人体无害。这种叫O104:H4型的大肠杆菌能造成出血性腹泻，痉挛，以及更为致命的溶血性尿毒综合征症状，引发肾衰竭。几乎所有的死者都是女性。没人能解释这一现象。

German health authorities at first traced the infection to organic cucumbers from Spain and advised people to avoid them, along with salad and raw tomatoes. Now it seems the cucumbers were innocent (though some may have been contaminated with another strain). But the vegetable warning still stands, and the economic and political damage is mounting.

德国卫生部门最先把疫情“元凶”定为从西班牙进口的有机黄瓜，并告诫民众避免食用它们，包括沙拉和生西红柿。现在看来黄瓜貌似已经“沉冤得雪”了（尽管有些可能被其他的病原体所感染）。但是对于蔬菜的食用警告依然有效，政治经济损失也逐渐增大。