科学开展新冠病毒溯源研究,争取早日战胜疫情
Scientifically Carry Out Origin-Tracing of COVID-19 Strive for an Early Victory in Fighting the Pandemic
郭少春大使发表署名文章
(无英文)
2021年7月30日
30 July 2021
新冠肺炎疫情肆虐全球，开展病毒溯源对未来病毒预防工作十分重要。病毒溯源是一个科学问题，应该由全世界科学家共同完成，但一些别有用心的国家试图将病毒溯源问题政治化，以遏制中国的发展，将疫情归咎于中国，以掩盖自身抗疫失败的事实。这些行为严重破坏全球抗疫努力，给全世界人民带来巨大伤害。
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues ravaging the world, tracing the origin of the virus is important for preventing possible risks in the future. Study of origins is a matter of science, which should be jointly conducted by scientists all over the world. However, some countries with ulterior motives are trying to politicize the origin-tracing as a way to suppress and contain China’s development, to pin the blame on China and get away with their own failure. These moves will only undermine the global fight against the virus and bring more pain to the international community.
一、中国一直以开放、透明和坦荡的态度支持新冠病毒溯源研究
1. Origin-tracing of COVID-19 is a scientific issue, China has all along been open, transparent and aboveboard.
病毒溯源是一个复杂的科学问题。历史上，报告最初病例的国家往往并非病毒实际起源地。例如，艾滋病毒感染者最初在美国发现，但该病毒可能并非起源于美国。有足够的证据表明，所谓的西班牙流感实际上也不是从西班牙开始的。
Origin-tracing of the virus is a complex scientific issue. Historically, initial cases have often been reported in places other than the origin of the virus. For example, HIV infections were first reported in the United States, but may not have originated in the United States. And there is sufficient evidence that the so called Spanish flu did not actually start in Spain either.
早在新冠肺炎疫情发生之初，世界卫生专家和多国媒体已经指出了疫情在全球多点多地暴发的情况。《欧洲流行病学杂志》的研究表明，新冠病毒2019年11月已在欧洲出现。美国疾控中心研究报告显示，新冠病毒或已于2019年12月在美国出现。瑞典公共卫生局流行病首席专家曾表示，瑞典可能2019年11月就已经出现了新冠病毒感染者。意大利米兰国家癌症研究所的研究显示，新冠病毒可能于2019年夏天起就已经在意大利传播。近日，法国巴斯德研究所免疫学博士鞠丽雅教授就新冠病毒溯源接受专访时指出，从新冠肺炎流行的总体情况看，多个源头、多点暴发已经是很明显的客观事实。
Covid-19 has broken out in various places around the world in the early days. A research published in the European Journal of Epidemiology suggests that COVID-19 infection may have occurred in Europe in November 2019. According to a US CDC Report, COVID-19 may have existed in the US in December 2019. The chief epidemiologist at Sweden’s Public Health Agency said that it’s likely that there were individual cases of coronavirus in Sweden in November 2019. According to a study released by the National Cancer Institute (INT) in Milan, the coronavirus may have been circulating in Italy since the summer of 2019. Obviously, all above was much earlier than the first case discovered in China. Recently, Professor Ju Liya, a doctor of immunology at the Pasteur Institute in France said in an exclusive interview that judging from the overall situation of the pandemic, it is an obvious fact that COVID-19 has multiple origins and broke out in multiple places.
中国一直与世卫组织保持密切合作，为新冠肺炎病毒溯源研究提供大力支持。自2020年7月以来，世卫组织国际专家团队先后两次来华专门开展溯源研究相关工作，并同中方专家组以各种形式进行了多次科研交流。基于联合开展的大量溯源研究，双方联合发布了《世卫组织召集的SARS-Cov-2全球溯源研究：中国部分》的研究报告，得出了国际社会和科学界公认的病毒可能来源的结论，标志着当前阶段中国范围内的新冠病毒溯源研究已有科学结论，对于联合研究报告建议的一些后续补充性研究工作，中国正在积极推进开展，并将在正常科学溯源前提下开展国际交流。
China has been working closely with WHO in supporting virus origin tracing of COVID-19, and has always been a firm supporter of WHO and multilateralism. Since July 2020, the WHO international expert team has twice conducted origin tracing of COVID-19 studies in China, and has had numerous online and email exchanges with their Chinese counterparts until today. WHO and China jointly released the report on the WHO-Convened Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part based on the large amount of joint research carried out earnestly. The report has made the conclusion that has been widely recognized by the international community and science community on the possible pathways of COVID-19, showing that there have been scientific conclusions reached regarding the COVID-19 origin tracing study in China. For some of the follow-up and further research recommendations made in the phase one joint report, China is also actively implementing them and will conduct international exchanges under pure science-driven studies.
新冠病毒溯源需要全世界科学家的合作。国际社会应尊重新冠病毒在世界多个地方暴发的事实，同中国一道，以公开、透明、科学的方式与世卫组织在溯源研究方面开展合作，为促进全球团结抗疫、挽救生命做出应有贡献。
Origin tracing of COVID-19 requires cooperation of scientists worldwide. The international community should respect the fact that the coronavirus broke out in multiple places in the world, cooperate with the WHO on the origin studies in an open, transparent and scientific manner as China did, and make due contribution to promoting global solidarity against the virus and saving more lives.
二、把病毒溯源政治化极不道德，只会危及国际抗疫合作，造成更大生命损失
2. It is immoral to politicize study of origins-tracing and will only jeopardize international anti-pandemic cooperation, and cost more lives.
把病毒溯源政治化极不道德，其目的就是攫取政治利益。自新冠肺炎疫情暴发以来，一些美国政客和媒体给病毒溯源贴标签、污名化，传播毫无根据的“实验室泄露”假说，肆意攻击、抹黑中国和世卫组织专家组关于病毒溯源研究的联合报告。美国总统甚至利用情报机构对病毒溯源展开所谓“调查”。但时至今日，美国尚未对其自身早于其他国家出现的许多本土新冠肺炎病例做出回应。美国国家卫生研究院发现，有证据表明，美国五个州早在2019年12月就出现新冠肺炎感染病例。佛罗里达州有171名患者出现新冠肺炎症状。新泽西州贝尔维尔市市长于2019年11月感染新冠病毒，比美国首例确诊病例早两个多月。2019年7月，美国多个州暴发“电子烟肺病”，其症状与新冠肺炎非常相似。美国9个州自2019年12月13日至2020年1月17日的106份捐赠血液样本中也检测出了新冠病毒抗体。
Politicized origin-tracing is definitely seeking for political purpose. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we’ve seen some US politicians and media outlets labeling the virus, seeking stigmatization, spreading unfounded “lab leak” hypothesis, wantonly attacking and smearing the joint report on the study of origins by the China-WHO team of experts, even before the report publishing. The US president even drew on the intelligence apparatus to launch “investigations” on virus origin. Unfortunately, the US has yet to respond to the reports of lots of COVID-19 cases earlier than had initially been reported by other countries. The National Institutes of Health of the US found evidence of COVID-19 infections which was present in five states in the US as far back as December 2019. In Florida, 171 patients had coronavirus symptoms before any cases were announced to the public. The mayor of Belleville, New Jersey was sick with the virus in November 2019, over two months earlier than the first confirmed case in the US. Patients of the EVALI outbreak in July 2019 in several states in the US have symptoms highly similar to that of COVID-19. Donated blood check-ups in nine US states found that 106 blood samples, ranging from December 13, 2019 to January 17, 2020, tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.
美国政府反复攻击中国不外乎三个目的。首先是遏制中国的发展。美国近年来通过政治、经济和社会手段遏制中国，这与美国历史上对多个国家采取的打压、遏制措施如出一辙。其次是转移民众对美政府应对疫情不力的指责。迄今为止，美国的感染人数和死亡人数分别超过3390万人和60.7万人。作为一个拥有世界上最先进医疗资源和技术的国家，美国需要想办法向外甩锅，而中国就是一个合适的目标。第三是转移公众对美国生物实验室的关注度。美国在世界各地有200多个生物实验室，但美政府拒绝公开这些实验室的真实情况，也拒绝以科学和透明的态度邀请世卫组织专家在美德特里克堡实验室和其海外的200多个生物实验室进行溯源研究。美国对媒体和国际公众的质疑和担忧充耳不闻，这是一个非常危险的信号。
Such moves to attack China time and again for no other than three purposes. The First is to hold back China’s development, like what the US did through political, economic and social means in recent years, and also like what the US did to other countries with different political and social systems. The Second is to shift the blame for its poor pandemic response. To date, the number of infections and deaths in the US has exceeded 33.9 million and 607,000 respectively. As a country equipped with the world’s most advanced medical resources and technology, the US needs to find a way to shift the blame, and China seems to be a suitable target. The Third is to divert public attention on the US bio laboratories. The US has more than 200 bio labs runs all around the world, but it refuses to provide a responsible account of the real situation of these labs and also refuse to adopt a scientific and transparent attitude to invite WHO experts for origin-tracing study in the US and on its Fort Detrick lab and the over 200 bio labs of the US overseas. The US has all along clammed up and turned a deaf ear to the doubts and concerns of media and the international public, it is very dangerous.
这种由政治意图驱使的行为背离了病毒溯源的初衷，削弱了美国应对新冠肺炎的能力，给美国人民造成了重大损失，也对全球抗疫合作产生了极其负面的影响。近期，第三波新冠肺炎疫情在世界多地暴发，对包括津巴布韦在内的发展中国家产生严重影响，对全世界人民的生命健康构成极大威胁。国际社会在抗击新冠疫情的同时，更应加强合作共同反对政治病毒的传播。
Such moves driven by politicization are deviating further away from the purpose of the study of origins. They have hamstrung the COVID-19 response in the US and inflicted heavy losses on the American people, and are having an increasingly negative impact on global anti-virus cooperation. Recently, the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic has broken out in many parts of the world, which has seriously affected the development of all countries, including Zimbabwe, and posed a serious threat to the lives and health of people all over the world. The international community should strengthen joint cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, and also we should fight together against the spread of the political virus.
三、中国坚定支持国际社会病毒溯源和抗击新冠肺炎的努力
3. China supports international efforts on origin-tracing and fighting against Covid-19.
中国一贯重视病毒溯源问题，并将继续为推进相关研究提供支持。同时，作为已率先同世卫组织开展新冠病毒溯源研究合作的国家，中国也将继续积极参与下一阶段的全球溯源合作。世卫组织应秉持科学、专业、客观的精神，与国际社会一道，科学、严肃地开展病毒溯源研究，抵制溯源问题政治化的倒退趋势，共同维护全球抗疫合作的良好氛围。中国的立场也得到了国际社会的广泛支持，包括津巴布韦在内的许多世卫组织成员国明确反对溯源问题政治化和污名化，呼吁科学、透明地开展病毒溯源第二阶段研究。
China always attaches great importance to the issue of origin-tracing and will continue to advance its own research in this respect. At the same time, as a leading country in cooperation with WHO on origins study, China will continue to actively participate in the next phase of global origin-tracing cooperation. The WHO should uphold the spirit of science, professionalism and objectivity, work with the international community to safeguard the scientific nature and seriousness of the origin study, resist the retrogressive trend of politicizing the issue of origin-tracing, and jointly maintain a sound atmosphere for global anti-pandemic cooperation. China's position is supported by many scientists in the international community who uphold science, reason and objectivity. Lots of member states of WHO including Zimbabwe have also stood out and opposed the politicization and stigmatization of origin-tracing, calling upon conducting the 2nd phase of origin-tracing in a scientific and transparent way without any political motives and influences.
第二阶段病毒溯源应在第一阶段工作基础上向前开展，第一阶段病毒溯源时已经开展过的，尤其是已经有了明确结论的研究，第二阶段不应再重复开展，下一步应基于新的科学发现，增加在全球多国多地开展早期病例搜索、动物（中间）宿主引入、冷链传播等方面研究，完全以科学证据为指引，切实开展科学溯源国际合作，才更有希望找到最有可能的病毒起源。
The 2nd phase of origin-tracing should be carried forward on the solid basis of the WHO-convened joint study in China. What has already been carried out in this study, especially those with clear conclusions, should not be studied again. The study should be totally evidence-based and science-driven so that it will be more likely to find the virus origin with practical and scientific international cooperation. The research should give priority to new scientific evidence found, add the part of conducting researches on searching early cases in multiple countries and regions, animal (intermediate) host introduction, cold chain introduction, etc.
开展病毒溯源的目的是提高人类对病毒的认识，更好地做好预防。相关国家应立即邀请世卫组织专家开展科学研究，积极回应国际关切。
The purpose of origin-tracing is to improve human’s understanding of the virus and better guard against infectious diseases in the future. The relevant countries should immediately invite WHO experts in for scientific studies to address international concerns.
自新冠肺炎疫情暴发以来，中国为国际抗疫合作，特别是对包括津巴布韦在内的非洲国家抗疫努力提供了大量支持。尽管中国国内面临生产能力有限、需求巨大等困难，但中方还是向80多个发展中国家提供了疫苗援助，向43个国家出口疫苗。为支持发展中国家抗击新冠肺炎疫情、推动社会经济复苏，中国向200多个国家和地区提供了3000多亿只口罩、37亿只防护装备、48亿只检测试剂盒等抗疫物资，与41家非洲医院建立合作机制，并于去年底正式启动非洲疾控中心总部建设。中国将继续帮助包括津巴布韦在内的发展中国家增强抗击疫情的能力，不断推动经济复苏。
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has provided substantial support for international anti-pandemic cooperation, especially to the African countries including Zimbabwe. Notwithstanding the limited production capacity and enormous demand at home, China has provided free vaccines to more than 80 developing countries and exported vaccines to 43 countries; China has availed 2 billion US dollars as assistance for COVID-19 response and social economic recovery in developing countries; China has sent medical supplies to more than 150 countries and 13 international organizations, providing more than 300 billion masks, 3.7 billion protective gears, 4.8 billion testing kits and other anti-pandemic supplies to more than 200 countries and regions, and over 600 million doses of vaccines to other countries; China has established a cooperation mechanism that paired up Chinese hospitals with 41 African hospitals. China has officially started the construction of the Africa CDC headquarters at the end of last year. But this is not the end. China will continue helping Zimbabwe and other developing countries build up their capacity to fight the pandemic and recover their economies.
新冠肺炎疫情是人类共同的敌人，但政治病毒比新冠病毒还要可怕。国际社会应旗帜鲜明反对政治病毒传播，推动全球早日战胜新冠肺炎疫情。
COVID-19 is the common enemy of mankind, but what’s more horrible than the virus is the political virus. The international community should adopt a united stance against political virus and their spreaders so that the world could embrace an early victory over COVID-19.