LONDON – As the Ebola virus grips an unprecedentedly wide swath of Africa, many are asking whether it is time to begin administering untested drugs and vaccines. Given that the disease can kill up to 90% of its victims – higher than the mortality rate from the bubonic plague – there seems to be little to lose from relaxing clinical norms.
伦敦——因为非洲大片地区史无前例地遭到埃博拉病毒的侵袭，很多人提出是否该允许未经测试的药物和疫苗投入使用。因为这种病能致死高达90%的感染者——死亡率甚至超过鼠疫——放松临床规范似乎没什么可以失去的。但这项建议诱发了复杂的伦理问题——而局势的紧迫性又不让人有太多时间考虑。