這種水果已至印度數十名兒童病發而喪生，你今年吃了嗎？

趣味 06-15

每年六七月份，是荔枝成熟大量上市的季節。

不過，已有數十名印度兒童在過去三周內，因食用荔枝引發腦炎而身亡。

當地時間周四，印度北部比哈爾邦(Bihar)的衛生部門表示，有50名左右的兒童死於急性腦炎症候群(acute encephalitis syndrome)。

自今年1月以來，在盛產荔枝的比哈爾邦穆扎法普爾市(Muzaffarpur)，兩家醫院共登記了179例兒童急性腦炎病例，死亡事件發生在最近幾周。

The state government is yet to confirm the cause of the outbreak but is attributing most of the deaths to hypoglycaemia - low blood sugar level.

該邦政府還沒有確認此次疫情的起因，但將大部分死亡歸因於低血糖。

But doctors said that more than 150 children under the age of 10 had been admitted with symptoms of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) since 1 June, and that of these 43 had died. They said hypoglycaemia is one of the features of AES.

但醫生表示，自6月1日以來，已有150多名10歲以下兒童出現急性腦炎症候群癥狀，其中43人死亡。他們說低血糖是急性腦炎症候群的特徵之一。

India: 43 children dead in brain disease outbreak "linked to lychee fruit toxin"(via The Independent)

在2014年的一項研究中，美國研究人員發現，急性腦炎症候群可能與荔枝中的一種毒素有關。

Outbreaks of AES have occurred each year in Muzaffarpur since 1995, and typically coincide with the lychee harvest season. The disease claimed a record 150 lives in 2014.

自1995年以來，穆扎法普爾市每年都會爆發急性腦炎症候群，而且通常與荔枝的收穫季節一致。2014年，該疾病奪走了150條生命，創歷史新高。

A similar association between the lychee harvest and outbreaks of AES has also been observed in other regions of Asia, including in the Bac Giang province in northernVietnam.

在亞洲其他地區，包括越南北部的北江省，也發現了荔枝收穫季與急性腦炎爆發之間的類似關聯。

May and June are also the hottest months of the dry summer inIndia, and senior health official Ashok Kumar Singh said parents should take preventative measures to protect their children.

5月和6月也是印度乾燥的夏季中最熱的兩個月，高級衛生官員Ashok Kumar Singh說，父母應該採取預防措施保護孩子。

India: 43 children dead in brain disease outbreak "linked to lychee fruit toxin"(via The Independent)

2017年發表在《柳葉刀全球健康》(Lancet Global Health)醫學期刊上的一項關於2014年腦炎爆發的研究顯示，其中一個因素可能是食用荔枝。

The study found that parents reported that children in affected villages spent most of the day eating lychees from nearby orchards, often returning home in the evening "uninterested in eating a meal." Children who fell ill were twice as likely to have skipped dinner, which, according to the researchers, probably resulted in "night-time hypoglycaemia."

研究發現，家長們報告說，受（疾病）影響的村莊的孩子們白天大部分時間都在吃附近果園裡的荔枝，晚上回家時常常「對吃飯不感興趣」。患病兒童不吃晚餐的可能性是正常兒童的兩倍，研究人員稱，這可能導致「夜間低血糖」。

The Lancet study said that when the children"s blood sugar level dropped, the body would start to metabolize fatty acids to produce a boost of glucose.

《柳葉刀》雜誌刊登的研究稱，當兒童的血糖水平下降時，身體就會開始代謝脂肪酸，產生葡萄糖。

However, urine samples found that two-thirds of the ill children showed evidence of exposure to toxins in lychee seeds, found in higher levels in unripe fruits. In the presence of these toxins, "glucose synthesis is severely impaired," the study said, leading to dangerously low blood sugar and brain inflammation.

然而，尿液樣本發現，有證據表明，三分之二的患病兒童接觸了荔枝種子中的毒素，而未成熟的果實中毒素含量更高。研究稱，在這些毒素的存在下，「葡萄糖合成嚴重受損」，導致危險的低血糖和腦炎。

SanjayKumar said that the affected children "are from poor families, and they do not have sugar reserves, and they are also malnourished."

（比哈爾邦高級衛生官員）Kumar說，受影響的兒童「來自貧困家庭，他們沒有糖儲備，而且營養不良。」

"The liver stores glycogen. When the sugar level goes down, the liver releases extra sugar to balance it out, but if there is no extra sugar and there are only toxins, then they get released," he said.

「肝臟儲存糖原。當糖的水平下降時，肝臟會釋放額外的糖來平衡，但是如果沒有額外的糖，只有毒素，那麼它們就會被釋放出來。」

Brain disease linked to lychee toxins kills 47 children in India(via CNN)

此外，2014年刊登在《當代科學》(Current Science)期刊上的研究發現，未成熟的獼猴桃和荔枝都含有一種名為MCPA的有毒物質，在動物實驗中已被證明可導致腦部疾病和低血糖。

The researchers said they did not know whether the toxin was present only in lychee seeds or in the flesh of the fruit, and whether ripe or unripe fruit were more likely to be harmful.

研究人員表示，他們不知道這種毒素只存在於荔枝種子中，還是也存在於果肉中。他們也不清楚是成熟的果實更有害，還是未成熟的。

Either way, they noted that 「well-nourished children are not affected」 because their bodies could maintain normal glucose levels in spite of the toxin. The authors recommended further study and 「ensuring adequate nutritional status in young children」.

無論如何，他們指出，「營養良好的兒童不受影響」，因為，儘管有毒素，他們的身體仍可以保持正常的葡萄糖水平。作者們建議作進一步研究，並「確保幼兒的充足營養」。

India: 43 children dead in brain disease outbreak "linked to lychee fruit toxin"(via The Independent)