patient zero
noun [ S ] uk/ˌpeɪ.ʃənt ˈzɪə.rəʊ/ us/ˌpeɪ.ʃənt ˈzɪr.oʊ/
零号病人; 零号病患
the first person to be infected during an epidemic (= the appearance of a particular disease in a large number of people at the same time)
Scientists were hunting down patient zero who first developed SARS. 科学家们正在寻找第一个感染非典型肺炎的零号病人。
The little boy was dubbed swine flu patient zero. 这个小男孩被称为猪流感零号病人。
- More examples
- The concept of a patient zero who allegedly was a central disseminator of the disease emerged.
- Patient zero was an 11-year-old boy who got infected with mumps during a summer visit to Great Britain.
- A 1984 study had found that patient zero was epidemiologically linked to 40 of the first 248 people identified with AIDS in the United States.