attenuate

ジカ熱感染を防ぐワクチンの開発が, 大手製薬会社の関心を集めています。

Zika vaccine race spurred by crisis, profit

The race to find protection against the Zika virus is fueled by something often missing from tropical disease research: the potential for big profit.

The prospect of a blockbuster vaccine against a mosquito-borne virus has accelerated the pace of development and attracted the interest of big drugmakers, including Sanofi SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

中略

A second NIH candidate contains inactivated viral material, while a third utilizes attenuated, or weakened, live virus.

DNA-based candidates are most likely to prove safe, but they typically require multiple doses to work. Vaccines that contain live virus are considered most effective with one dose, but have a far higher safety hurdle, particularly if they are intended for pregnant women, and so they take longer to get to market.

以下省略

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003270098

今回取り上げる表現は “attenuate” です。

『リーダーズ英和中辞典』(研究社)で調べると, 「弱める, <ウィルスなどを>弱毒化する」と記されていました。

Merriam-Webster.comには “to reduce the severity of (a disease) or virulence or vitality of (a pathogenic agent) と定義され, “attenuate bacilli” という用例が挙げられています。

“attenuate” の成り立ちが気になり, 上記の英英辞典を確認したところ, 由来はラテン語の “attenuatus” で, “past participle of attenuare to make thin, from ad- + tenuis thin” とありました。 “tenuis” とは, 音声学で「無声閉鎖音」を表し, 今夏に学んだ “tenuous” も, この仲間であったことがわかりました。(Cayu)