一组美国科学家在试图研发一种新型抗流感疗法的过程中请来了一位意想不到的 “同伴”— 大羊驼。研究人员用羊驼的血液制造出了一种新的抗体疗法，这种疗法有可能消灭所有类型的流感病毒，包括突然暴发的流行病毒。

 

The influenza¹ virus is the ultimate shape-shifter. It's constantly mutating its appearance to evade² our immune system. That's why a new flu jab is needed each winter and why the vaccine³ sometimes misses its mark.

流行性感冒病毒是终极的变形怪。它不断地改变它的外观以逃避我们的免疫系统。这就是为什么人们每年冬天都需要注射新的流感预防针，也是疫苗有时无法奏效的原因。

 

Science is on the hunt for a way to kill all types of flu, no matter the strain or how much it mutates. That's where the llama, better known for its wool, comes in. The animals produce incredibly tiny antibodies. These weapons of the immune system are able to wriggle⁴ their way deep inside the flu virus to find the parts it cannot mutate.

人们在利用科学来寻找一种能战胜所有类型流感的方法，不管是哪种病毒，也不管它变异了多少。虽然大羊驼更多地以其身上的羊毛而为人所知，但在对抗流感的战斗中，它也能派上用场。这种动物产生的抗体极其微小。这些免疫系统的武器能够设法深入流感病毒的内部，从而找到病毒无法变异的部分。

 

The team at the Scripps Institute in California picked four of the most potent⁵ llama antibodies to design their own synthetic⁶ antibody. It was tested on mice, which were given deadly doses of influenza.

美国加州斯克里普斯研究所的这支团队从大羊驼的血液中选取了四种最强效的抗体来制作合成抗体。研究人员给老鼠注射了致命剂量的流感病毒，从而测试合成抗体的药效。

 

The hope is this antibody can be given to people at the start of every winter or during a flu pandemic. This is early-stage research and the team want to do more tests before starting human trials and there are questions about mass production and cost. But maybe llama blood holds the secret to saving hundreds of thousands of lives from flu each year.

人们希望这种抗体能在每年初冬之际和在流感病毒大规模爆发时给人们使用。这仍是早期的研究，研究小组想在展开人体试验之前做更多的测试，同时他们对于批量生产此药物和其成本方面仍存有疑虑。然而，大羊驼的血液中也许就藏着每年可以拯救成千上万生命的秘密。

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