國際專家組批評韓國對MERS疫情早期應對不力

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government’s failure to share information quickly with the public and establish an efficient disease-control system contributed to worsening the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in the country, a joint panel of experts from the World Health Organization and South Korea said Saturday.

韓國首爾——世界衛生組織(World Health Organization)與韓國聯合成立的一個專家組週六表示，韓國政府未能迅速向公衆共享信息，未能建立起高效的疾病控制體系，這加劇了中東呼吸綜合徵（Middle East Respiratory Syndrome，簡稱MERS）疫情在該國的爆發。

The experts have spent the past week visiting hospitals and meeting with health authorities to assess the outbreak, which has killed 14 people, and make recommendations.

上述專家過去一週走訪醫院並與衛生主管部門會面，從而對疫情進行評估，並作出建議。疫情已在韓國導致14人死亡。

“One of the things South Korea failed to do was a transparent and rapid distribution of information, which is the most important thing to do,” said Lee Jong-koo, the leader of the South Korean side of the joint mission, at a news conference Saturday.

“韓國未能做到的事項中，包括未能迅速、透明地傳播信息，這應該是重中之重，”聯合專家組韓方負責官員李鍾求(Lee Jong-koo)週六在新聞發佈會上表示。

A “failure to establish proper governance” in controlling the outbreak in its early stages also contributed to “confusion” among the public, Mr. Lee said.

在疫情出現的初期，“未能建立妥善的管理手段”控制蔓延，也在公衆當中造成了“混亂”，李鍾求說。

The disease, known as MERS, is known to have infected 145 people in South Korea since the first patient was identified on May 20. The outbreak is the largest to date outside the Middle East, where the virus first emerged in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and has killed more than 400 people.

自首位患者5月20日確診以來，韓國已知的MERS感染者已有145人。此次疫情爆發是有史以來，中東地區以外規模最大的一次。這種病毒最初是2012年在沙特阿拉伯出現的，當時的疫情造成超過400人死亡。

One of the tasks of the joint mission was to determine why so many people were infected in South Korea in a relatively short period of time. On Saturday, Keiji Fukuda, chief World Health Organization official on the panel, pointed to several factors: South Korean doctors’ unfamiliarity with MERS; the country’s “overcrowded” emergency rooms; the practice of “doctor shopping” for care at many different clinics; and the fact that hospital rooms here tend to be bustling with visitors. Nearly all of the country’s confirmed MERS patients were infected while seeking care or while visiting patients at hospitals. Hospital staff members were also infected.

聯合專家組的一項任務是，研究在相對短暫的時間裏，韓國爲什麼有這麼多人感染。聯合小組中世衛組織方面的負責官員福田敬二(Keiji Fukuda)在週六指出了若干項因素：韓國醫生不熟悉MERS；該國醫療機構的急診室“過於擁擠”；在不同的診所之間“挑揀醫生”尋求醫護的做法；以及韓國醫院的病房裏，經常有人頭攢動的來訪者。該國幾乎所有的MERS確診病例，都是在求醫時或在醫院探望病人時感染的。醫院的醫護人員也受到了感染。

Mr. Fukuda said the panel had found no evidence to indicate that MERS was spreading in the broader population. “However, continued monitoring for this possibility is critical throughout the entire outbreak,” he said. “Now, because the outbreak has been large and is complex, more cases should be anticipated.”

福田敬二表示，專家組沒有找到顯示MERS向範圍更廣的公衆傳播的證據。“然而，在疫情持續的整個時間段，持續監控這種可能性是很關鍵的，”他說。“因爲疫情規模大、情況複雜，現在應當預期會有更多病例出現。”

Both Mr. Fukuda and Mr. Lee said that the rate of new infections was decreasing, as South Korean officials have improved their communications with the public and carried out stronger infection-control measures. Twelve new MERS cases were reported Saturday, and seven more on Sunday.

福田敬二和李鍾求表示，隨着韓國官員改善了與公衆的溝通，並採取了更有力的措施防控感染，新病例的感染率出現了下降。週六報告了12個新增MERS感染病例，週日報告了7例。

The government has come under heavy criticism for withholding critical information early in the outbreak, like the names and locations of hospitals where infections had occurred. It eventually released the hospitals’ names, weeks after the first case was discovered. The outbreak has been a blow to President Park Geun-hye, whose approval rating has fallen in recent weeks.

由於在疫情出現早期沒有公佈關鍵信息，如感染者姓名和發生感染的醫院的位置，政府受到了嚴厲的批評。在發現第一個病例的數週後，政府終於公佈了醫院的名稱。疫情的爆發對韓國總統朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)產生了衝擊，她的支持率在最近幾周出現下降。

Mr. Fukuda, who said transparency during an outbreak was “the basis of trust,” urged South Korea to continue to enforce a strong quarantine and monitoring system. He also recommended that the country invest more in its public health system, particularly by hiring more epidemiologists and expanding its laboratories’ capacities.

福田敬二表示，疫情爆發期間，透明度是“信任的基礎”。他敦促韓國政府，要繼續推行有力的隔離和監控措施。他還建議，韓國應該對公共衛生系統給予更大投入，尤其是聘請更多流行病學家，拓展實驗室的能力。