疫症新聞詞彙

最近武漢肺炎肆虐，市面上人人佩戴口罩，無不人心惶惶，在這個非常時期，筆者大部分時間也留在家裡工作或消磨時間。以下介紹一些關於這次疫症新聞常用的詞彙，希望讀者謹記注意衛生，好好保護身體。

asymptomatic (adj): 無症狀的

People who contract the Wuhan coronavirus could be asymptomatic for a few days and not even know they have the virus.（感染武漢冠狀病毒的人可能幾天都沒有症狀，他們甚至不知道自己帶有病毒。）

ground zero (n): 原爆點，重災區

As the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party are opaque, observers are weighing why the President has not been to ground zero or playing up his role in managing the crisis.（因中國共產黨的內部工作並不透明，因此觀察員正在衡量國家主席為何沒有到訪災區現場或發揮其處理危機的作用。）

incubation period (n): 潛伏期

New research found that the incubation period for the virus was as long as 24 days rather than the previously believed 14 days.（新研究發現，病毒的潛伏期長達 24 天，而不是之前認為的 14 天。）

lockdown (n): 封鎖，封關，封城

Wuhan has been under lockdown for weeks after it was identified as the epicentre of a deadly coronavirus outbreak.（當被確定為致命冠狀病毒爆發的源頭之後，武漢已經被封鎖了幾個星期。）

panic buying (n): 搶購，恐慌性購買

Hong Kong has been hit by a wave of panic buying with supermarket shelves frequently emptied of staple goods such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, rice and pasta.（香港受到一股瘋狂搶購的衝擊，超市貨架上的主要用品如衛生紙、洗手液、米、麵條等經常被一掃而空。）

stockpile (n): 大量儲備，囤積

The authorities urged people not to stockpile food, as some stores ran out of meat, vegetables and instant noodles.（當局敦促人們不要囤積食物，因為一些商店的肉、蔬菜和即食麵都缺貨了。）

whistle-blower (n): 告發者，告密者

The death of Dr Li Wenliang, the whistle-blower who first raised the alarm about the coronavirus outbreak, has sparked public anger in China.（曾率先告發冠狀病毒爆發的李文亮醫生，他的去世在中國引起了公憤。）

zoonotic (adj): 由動物傳染的

When zoonotic diseases jump to humans, they can be far more deadly than they are in their animal host because they have adapted to that animal’s immune system.（當由動物傳染的疾病傳播給人類時，它們的致命性會遠比其在動物宿主時為高，因為它們已經適應了該動物的免疫系統。）