近日，俄罗斯圣彼得堡市一家知名动物园的两只鹅突然死亡后引发了一场关于禽流感的恐慌，导致该动物园紧急关门谢客，但当地一位医学专家已表示鹅的死因并非是禽流感。

　　One of Russia's main zoos in St Petersburg has closed down after the deaths of two geese sparked a bird flu scare, but a local health expert ruled this out as the cause of their deaths.

　　这家俄罗斯历史最为悠久的动物园于12月18日晚间突然宣布临时关闭，目前园方已经正式拒绝就此举做出解释，而卫生部门的官员则认为这与那两只死鹅有关。

　　The zoo , one of Russia's oldest, officially refused to explain its unscheduled closure on Monday night, but health officials linked it to the discovery of the two dead birds.

　　该动物园总共饲养了大约800只禽鸟。而园内贴出的一张通知上则写明关闭行为将会一直持续到今年年底。

　　The zoo has about 800 birds in all. A notice at the zoo said it would remain closed until the end of the year.

　　"它们并非死于禽流感，"一位对那两只死鹅的尸体检测情况有所知晓的禽流感专家在接受路透社记者采访时表示，"该动物园内的禽鸟都曾接种过禽流感疫苗。"

　　"They did not die from bird flu," an expert on bird flu, who had knowledge of tests carried out on the dead geese, told Reuters. "The birds had been vaccinated against bird flu."

　　迄今为止，禽流感仍然是一种主要在动物间相互传播的疾病。按照世界卫生组织的说法，自从2003年年底以来，全世界范围内已经有超过250人感染了此种疾病，而死亡者的数量则已达150余人。

　　Bird flu remains essentially an animal disease but it has infected more than 250 people worldwide since late 2003, killing more than 150, according to the World Health Organization.

　　医学专家们害怕禽流感病毒会发生变异，从而成为一种可以在人与人之间轻易传播的疾病，并进而引发一场全球性的流感大爆发，最终导致数百万人死亡。 　　

　　Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmissible between humans and spark an influenza pandemic, killing millions of people.

　　（国际在线独家编译 张咏 未经允许 请勿转载）