Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.
Znanstveniki iščejo izvor virusa
Scientists are looking for the source of the virus
Written Urša Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate
O virusu, ki povzroča bolezen covid-19, vemo že zelo veliko. Njegov izvor pa ostaja neznanka. Kaj se je zgodilo, da je nastal virus, ki je ustavil svet?
We already know a great deal about the virus that causes the disease covid-19. Its source, however, remains unknown. What happened to create the virus that stopped the world?
Znanstveniki kot detektivi iščejo sledi, ki bi razkrile podrobnosti njegovega nastanka. V začetku februarja so pod okriljem Svetovne zdravstvene organizacije končno odpotovali na Kitajsko.
Scientists, likes detectives, are looking for clues that would reveal the details of its origin. In early February, they finally travelled to China under the auspices of the World Health Organization.
Prve zaznane okužbe z virusom pri ljudeh so povezovali z obiski tržnice v Wuhanu. Neodvisni raziskovalci so zato želeli odkriti, kako je virus zašel tja. Predstavili so dva najbolj verjetna scenarija.
The first detected virus infections in humans were associated with market visits in Wuhan. Independent researchers therefore wanted to find out how the virus got there. They presented the two most likely scenarios.
Prva možnost je, da je virus nastal nekje drugje in da je v Wuhan prišel z zamrznjeno hrano. Virus se tako sicer ohrani, a znanstveniki še ne vedo, če ostane nalezljiv.
The first possibility is that the virus originated elsewhere and came to Wuhan with frozen food. The virus was thus preserved, but scientists do not yet know if it would remain contagious.
Druga verjetnejša možnost je, da je iz netopirjev prešel na ljudi prek vmesnega gostitelja. Na tržnici v Wuhanu so prodajali različne živali, ki bi lahko bile vmesni gostitelji.
Another more likely possibility is that it passed from bats to humans through an intermediate host. The markets in Wuhan sold a variety of animals that could be intermediate hosts.
»Poznavanje prehodov med gostitelji in tega, kakšne spremembe prinašajo virusu in kako učinkujejo na gostitelja, je zelo pomembno. Tako lažje predvidimo, kje bi do njih še lahko prišlo, in ustrezno ukrepamo,« pojasnjuje virologinja Katarina Prosenc Trilar z Nacionalnega laboratorija za zdravje, okolje in hrano.
Knowing the transitions between hosts and what changes they bring to the virus and how they affect the host is very important. This makes it easier to predict where they might occur and take appropriate action, "explains virologist Katarina Prosenc Trilar from the National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food.
Znanstveniki pa so ovrgli možnost, da bi virus ušel iz laboratorija. Preverili so varnostne sisteme laboratorija v Wuhanu in ugotovili, da bi to bilo zelo malo verjetno.
But scientists have ruled out the possibility of the virus escaping from a lab. They checked the security systems of the laboratory in Wuhan and found that this would be very unlikely.
Štirinajstdnevni obisk skupine znanstvenikov na Kitajskem je šele začetek ugotavljanja, kaj se je zgodilo.
A fourteen-day visit by a group of scientists to China is just the beginning of figuring out what happened.
Pomemben je bil za vzpostavitev dobrih odnosov, saj se bo raziskovanje še nadaljevalo. Iskanje izvora virusa lahko traja desetletja.
It was important to establish good relations as the research will continue. Finding the source of a virus can take decades.
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