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新冠疫情初期，很多人会擦拭买回来的食品、把信件放在门外好几天。人们不清楚病毒怎么传播，于是对细菌病毒格外小心。那么，动物经历疫情后会不会也这样？美国加州大学圣迭戈分校（UC San Diego）认知科学研究者 Stephan Kaufhold 等人的论文于 10 月 21 日在线发表在《皇家学会开放科学》（Royal Society Open Science）上，NPR 于 10 月 23 日（美国时间）作了报道。研究源于美国得克萨斯州南部一处灵长类保护区的意外事件：2020 年，部分日本猕猴群暴发了猴逆转录病毒 II 型（SRV Type II），这种病毒主要通过咬伤和抓伤传播，导致不少猕猴重病甚至死亡。保护区随即隔离各群，于是形成了一个“自然实验”：三个猴群经历过疫情，一个没有。研究者给 55 只猕猴提供两颗葡萄，一颗放在干净的木块或彩色厨房海绵上，另一颗放在用透明环氧树脂封住的真实猴粪上——看起来脏，却没有气味也不会传染。结果，未经历疫情的猴群在 79% 的试验中吃了“脏”葡萄，经历过疫情的猴群只有 47%；即使本身没被感染的猴子也同样谨慎。同一论文的另一项研究测试了 7 个物种的 54 只猕猴，发现由人类养大的前宠物猕猴比在保护区由母亲养大的猕猴更容易吃“脏”食物。需要注意：病毒并非经食物传播，测试在疫情数年后才进行，研究者也无法直接判断猴子是否感到“厌恶”。文章按“生活现象—研究缘起—实验方法—结果对比—补充发现—局限”展开，阅读时可留意 so、while、even、instead of 如何连接因果与对比，以及 may、suggest 如何限定结论。

正文

In the early days of COVID-19, many people wiped their groceries clean and left their mail outside for days. Little was known about how the virus spread, so they became extra careful about germs. A new study suggests that monkeys may change their behavior in a similar way after living through a deadly outbreak. The paper, led by Stephan Kaufhold at the University of California San Diego, was published online on October 21 in Royal Society Open Science.

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新冠疫情初期，很多人会把买回来的食品擦干净，把信件放在门外好几天。人们对病毒如何传播所知甚少，于是对细菌病毒格外小心。一项新研究表明，猴子在经历一场致命的疫情之后，也可能以类似的方式改变行为。这篇论文由美国加州大学圣迭戈分校的 Stephan Kaufhold 主导，于 10 月 21 日在线发表在《皇家学会开放科学》上。

The study grew out of an unexpected event. A sanctuary in southern Texas is home to several groups of Japanese macaques, and each group lives in its own fenced area. In 2020, a virus called SRV Type II appeared in some of the groups. It spreads mainly through bites and scratches, and it made many monkeys very sick. Some of them died. Staff separated the groups and started strict testing. As a result, three groups had lived through the outbreak, while one group had not.

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这项研究源于一次意外事件。美国得克萨斯州南部的一处保护区生活着几群日本猕猴，每个猴群住在各自用围栏隔开的区域里。2020 年，一种名为 SRV II 型的病毒出现在其中一些猴群中。它主要通过咬伤和抓伤传播，让许多猴子病得很重，其中一些死亡。工作人员把各群隔开，并开始严格检测。结果，三个猴群经历了这场疫情，而另一个猴群没有。

To test the animals, the researchers used a sweet treat: grapes. In each trial, one grape sat on a clean piece of wood or a bright kitchen sponge. The other sat on real monkey waste sealed under clear plastic, so it looked dirty but had no smell and could not make anyone sick. The team tested 55 macaques.

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为了测试这些动物，研究者用了一种甜美的零食：葡萄。每次试验中，一颗葡萄放在干净的木块或颜色鲜艳的厨房海绵上，另一颗放在用透明塑料封住的真实猴粪上，所以它看起来很脏，却没有气味，也不会让任何猴子生病。研究团队测试了 55 只猕猴。

The results were clear. Monkeys from the group that had never faced the outbreak ate the grape on the dirty surface in 79% of trials. For monkeys from the outbreak groups, the figure fell to 47%. Even monkeys that had never been infected behaved in the same careful way. This suggests that seeing others get sick and die may have been enough to change how they acted.

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结果很明确。来自从未经历疫情的猴群的猴子，在 79% 的试验中吃掉了“脏”表面上的葡萄；而来自经历过疫情的猴群的猴子，这一比例降到了 47%。就连从未被感染的猴子，也表现得同样谨慎。这表明，看到同伴生病和死去，可能就足以改变它们的行为。

The same paper also tested 54 macaques from seven species. Former pets, which grew up with humans instead of other monkeys, were more likely to eat the dirty food than monkeys born at the sanctuary. Kaufhold thinks they may have missed the chance to learn from their mothers early in life.

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同一篇论文还测试了来自七个物种的 54 只猕猴。由人类而不是其他猴子养大的前宠物猕猴，比在保护区出生的猴子更容易吃下“脏”食物。Kaufhold 认为，它们可能在早年错过了向母亲学习的机会。

The study has limits. The virus did not spread through dirty food, so the monkeys did not seem to understand how it moved. Andrew MacIntosh, a biologist who was not part of the study, also points out that the tests took place years after the outbreak, so other factors could matter. Scientists cannot tell whether the monkeys felt disgust. Still, the findings suggest that caution about germs can grow from experience, not only from birth.

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这项研究也有局限。病毒并不是通过脏食物传播的，所以猴子似乎并不理解它是如何传播的。没有参与研究的生物学家 Andrew MacIntosh 还指出，测试是在疫情过去数年后才进行的，因此其他因素也可能起作用。科学家无法判断猴子是否感到厌恶。尽管如此，研究结果表明，对细菌病毒的谨慎可以来自经历，而不只是与生俱来。

新闻来源

• NPR · Just like us, macaques seem to fear germs after an outbreak (23 Oct 2026)
• UC San Diego Today · Like Humans, Some Primates Become Cautious of Germs in the Wake of a Viral Outbreak
• Royal Society Open Science · Early-life experience and disease exposure affect pathogen avoidance behaviour in macaques (21 Oct 2026)

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