埃博拉危機中的尼日利亞 恐慌與希望並存

LAGOS, NIGERIA — People avoid shaking hands here these days. The government is urging us not to. This is a serious matter in a country where a casual “hello” is downright rude and everyday greetings involve elaborate rituals based upon age, rank and even the state of the weather and the day of the week. Until about a month ago, it was by no means unusual for two friends, male as well as female, to remain hand-in-hand long after the protocol of the greeting was complete. Now not so. The Ebola scare has introduced a new awkwardness in social relations.

尼日利亞拉各斯——這裏的人現在都會避免握手。政府正在呼籲我們不要握手。這是一個很嚴重的問題，因爲在尼日利亞，隨口說聲“你好”絕對是種粗魯之舉，這裏的日常問候是一種複雜的禮儀，根據年齡、等級、乃至天氣狀況如何和當天是星期幾而變化。直到大約一個月前，兩個朋友，無論男女，在問候禮儀完成後很久仍然手握着手的情況絕不少見。但現在不同了。埃博拉疫情造成的恐慌，已經給社會關係製造了一個新的尷尬。

I first heard about the government’s call to avoid shaking hands from a priest at Mass three Sundays ago. It was not long after the Ebola virus had landed at the Lagos airport on July 20 in the person of Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian national and naturalized American citizen who had fled the Liberian capital Monrovia in hope of better treatment in Nigeria. He died five days later, by which time others had been infected, whereupon the Lagos state government, in collaboration with federal authorities, was quick to promulgate the message: Avoid physical contact, wash your hands frequently, and leave it to professionals to handle the dead.

我第一次聽到政府避免握手的號召，是三週前的週日彌撒上由一位牧師傳達的。當時埃博拉病毒抵達尼日利亞還沒有多久：利比里亞裔美國公民帕特里克·索耶(Patrick Sawyer)感染後，逃離了利比里亞首都蒙羅維亞，希望在尼日利亞獲得更好的治療，他於7月20日抵達拉各斯機場。五天以後，他過世了，但那個時候其他人已經被他感染，於是拉各斯州政府與聯邦當局合作，很快就發佈了預防埃博拉的消息：避免身體接觸，經常洗手，亡者留給專業人士來處理。

While the country’s myriad radio stations broadcast the warnings, the authorities also asked churches and mosques to spread the word. (Most Nigerians are profoundly religious, and even many nonbelievers attend services, compelled as often as not by neighborly tradition rather than pietistic pressure.)

尼日利亞衆多電臺播放了這些警告，當局還要求教堂和清真寺傳達這個消息。（大多數尼日利亞人都篤信宗教，甚至還有很多非信徒參加禮拜，這通常是街坊傳統使然，而非虔誠信仰的壓力。）

Working from the airline passenger list and hospital patient information, the authorities were quickly able to develop a comprehensive list of those who came into contact with Mr. Sawyer, and sent medical workers to locate those who might have been exposed to the virus. Some 200 people were put under observation until the 21-day incubation period had passed.

當局根據航空公司的乘客名單和醫院的病人信息，很快就列出了一份完整清單，內含所有與索耶接觸過的人。而且當局還派出醫療人員，尋找那些可能已經接觸到病毒的人。大約有200人接受觀察，直到21天的潛伏期完全結束。

The authorities wanted to avoid the panic and mayhem that occurred in Liberia, and I have to say (though I usually find very little to praise in any government in Nigeria) that the speed and efficiency with which the Lagos State authorities reacted was exemplary. It seems as if the virus has been contained in this city of 20 million people. Agence France-Presse reported this week that 320 people suspected of exposure to the virus have been certified clear and released, and that another 41 remained under surveillance.

埃博拉在利比里亞引發了恐慌和混亂，尼日利亞當局希望避免重蹈它的覆轍，我不得不說（雖然我平時很少對尼日利亞的各級政府予以讚揚），拉各斯州當局的反應速度和效率堪稱典範。在這個2000萬人口的城市，病毒看起來已被控制住。據法新社(Agence France-Presse)報道，本週有320個可能接觸過埃博拉病毒的人，已被證實未受感染，並且解除了隔離，另有41人仍然有待觀察。

But the situation here and elsewhere is still uncertain. Despite all the precautions, one of the nurses who had treated Mr. Sawyer managed to escape a poorly guarded isolation ward and travel to the southern city of Enugu. Her name was never released, and it is not known why a professional nurse would suddenly take flight. In any case, the Enugu state government was quick to act. All of the 20 or so people she is known to have come into close contact with during her daylong trip from Lagos were located and placed under surveillance. Though the nurse, who apparently did not know she was infected, has since been reported to have died, there have been no reports — so far — that any of the people she came in contact with have been infected.

但這裏和其他地方的局勢依然不明朗。儘管採取了各種預防措施，接觸過索耶的一名護士還是逃出了守衛鬆懈的隔離病房，前往南部城市埃努古。我們一直不知道她的名字，也不知道爲什麼一個職業護士會突然逃走。但無論如何，埃努古州政府迅速採取行動。這名護士離開拉各斯後，在一整天的行程中曾密切接觸過約20人，現在這些人都被找到，並處在監控之下。這名護士似乎不知道自己已經感染病毒，雖然報道稱她已經去世，但迄今還沒有聽說她接觸過的任何人感染了埃博拉病毒。

People in Port Harcourt, the oil capital in the south, have not been so lucky. Another suspected carrier also escaped from a Lagos isolation ward. Unlike the nurse, he allegedly knew he was infected. The doctor he consulted died of Ebola on Aug. 22, according to the World Health Organization. The doctor’s wife, who was flown to Lagos for treatment with her three-month-old baby, is also said to have died, according to local media reports. The infant’s fate is unknown. The authorities say the man who infected them may be tried on manslaughter charges. W.H.O. officials said this week that there were three confirmed cases of Ebola infection in the city, and that some 200 people remain under surveillance there.

南部石油之都哈科特港的人們就沒有這麼幸運了。另一名可能攜帶埃博拉病毒的病人也從拉各斯的隔離病房逃離，與那名護士不同，據說他知道自己感染了病毒。據世界衛生組織(World Health Organization)透露，他諮詢過的醫生因爲感染埃博拉病毒於8月22日死亡。當地媒體報道稱，這名醫生的妻子爲了給三個月大的嬰兒治病飛到了拉各斯，據稱，她已經死亡。這名嬰兒的命運目前還不得而知。當局稱，導致他們感染病毒的男子可能會遭到審訊，罪名是過失殺人。WHO官員本週表示，該市確認了三例感染埃博拉病毒的病例，大約有200人仍然處在監控下。

The tendency to panic in the face of a deadly virus with no known cure is of course understandable, especially given the stories that have been coming out of Monrovia and elsewhere in West Africa. Foreigners from suspect countries are regarded warily. Just recently, the Lagos police, acting on a tip from fearful neighbors, raided a hotel and arrested 39 people, 35 of them from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The others were from Senegal, or Sierra Leone, depending upon what newspapers you read.

當然，面對這種無法治療的致命病毒，出現恐慌傾向是可以理解的，特別是考慮到蒙羅維亞及西非其他地方傳來的報道。來自可能存在風險的國家的外國人受到密切關注。就在最近，拉各斯警方根據擔憂的鄰居提供的情報，採取行動，突擊搜查了一家酒店，逮捕了39人，其中有35人來自剛果民主共和國。剩下的來自塞內加爾或塞拉利昂，各報的報道存在不同。

There have also been the inevitable quack cures, as well as traditional herbal remedies from folk doctors. In one bizarre case, claims that drinking and bathing in salt water would prevent infection flooded the Internet. A surprising number of people apparently believed it. Two are reported to have died from drinking salt water, and another 20 have been hospitalized.

庸醫胡亂治病、民間醫生使用傳統草藥治療的情況不可避免地出現了。還有個匪夷所思的事情是，喝鹽水和用鹽水洗澡可以防止感染病毒的說法在網上廣爲流傳。看來相信這種說法的人意想不到地多。據稱，有兩人因爲喝鹽水而死亡，還有20人入院就醫。

Yet it is remarkable how calm most people have remained. Not that they aren’t taking precautions. The other day, for instance, a bank security guard offered me some of the hand disinfectant that most people seem to carry about these days, as did the owner of a local cafe I frequent.

但值得注意的是，大多數人能夠保持冷靜。這並不是說他們不採取預防措施。例如，有一天，一名銀行保安給了我一些手消毒液，一家我經常光顧的當地咖啡館的老闆也給了我一些，目前大多數人似乎都帶着這種消毒液。

There is little doubt that quick action by the authorities has generated a broad sense of civic responsibility that is rare in Nigeria. Even the federal government, otherwise so mired in corruption that it is helpless in the face of our home-grown Islamist insurgency, appears to have taken an atypically responsible approach. Despite the perennial distrust that most Nigerians have toward any government statement, the fact that the virus has so far been relatively contained has given this nation of skeptics hope that our leaders can govern, once they put their minds to it.

毫無疑問，當局的快速行動促使廣大民衆產生責任感，這在尼日利亞非常罕見。儘管聯邦政府陷入腐敗泥潭，對國內的伊斯蘭主義叛亂束手無策，但這個政府似乎一反常態，承擔責任，應對問題。儘管大多數尼日利亞人一直不相信政府的聲明，但病毒到目前爲止已經相對得到控制的事實，給這個充滿疑慮的國家帶來希望——如果我們的領導人願意用心治理，他們就能治理好國家。

Nevertheless, fear remains that Ebola may yet spiral out of control. Another death was reported here this week, this one at the Lagos University teaching hospital. It is said, though not confirmed, that the health workers who attended to the victim were not wearing the recommended protective equipment.

儘管如此，人們仍然擔心埃博拉疫情可能會失控。本週這裏又出現了一例死亡病例，這次是在拉各斯大學(University of Lagos)的教學醫院。據稱，照料這名死者的醫護人員沒有穿戴相關部門推薦的防護裝備，但該消息沒有得到證實。

This does not inspire confidence. Though United Nations officials have praised the way Nigeria has handled the threat so far, the nation’s health minister warns that “a few” more cases are likely. In the meantime, most of us are crossing our fingers, rubbing our hands with disinfectant, and carrying on as best we can. Meanwhile, newspaper cartoonists are having a field day dreaming up alternatives to the handshake.

這對信心的建立是不利的。雖然聯合國(United Nations)官員對尼日利亞迄今爲止應對威脅的方式提出表揚，但該國衛生部長警告稱，可能還會出現“一些”病例。在此期間，我們當中的大多數人都會祈禱，用消毒液搓手，儘可能繼續這麼做。與此同時，報紙漫畫家正忙着構思代替握手的問候方式。