在某论坛看到一条题为“美国首次认同中医药学为独立科学体系”的新闻，声称：
人民网-人民日报 本报北京8月2日电 (记者王淑军) 记者今天从中国中医科学院获悉：美国食品药品管理局(FDA)新近发布了一份指导性文件《补充和替代医学产品及FDA管理指南(初稿)》，将包括中医药在 内的传统医学从“补充和替代医学(CAM)”中分离出来，首次认同中医药学与西方主流医学一样，是一门有着完整理论和实践体系的独立科学体系，而不仅仅是 对西方主流医学的补充。
搜索一下发现这条新闻已经到处都是了，上面是新浪的链接。感觉很诧异，觉得这是不可能的事，于是找到了FDA和NCCAM的网站看个究竟。首先在NCCAM的“What Is CAM”说明中发现这样的字样：
CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Conventional medicine is medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses.
估计新闻中的“将包括中医药在 内的传统医学从“补充和替代医学(CAM)”中分离出来”这句就是从这里来的。但是从上下文不难理解这个“conventional medicine”指的就是西方主流医学，而不是“包括中医药在 内的传统医学”。
新闻里提到的“《补充和替代医学产品及FDA管理指南(初稿)》”应该就是这份“Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (DRAFT GUIDANCE)” （PDF文档）。在其第四页上明确写道：
The term “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) encompasses a wide
array of health care practices, products, and therapies that are distinct from practices,
products, and therapies used in “conventional” or “allopathic” medicine. Some forms of
CAM, such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, have been practiced
for centuries, whereas others, such as electrotherapy, are more recent in origin.
也就是说中医仍被FDA认为属于“补充和替代医学(CAM)”的范畴。
看来这又是一次因为翻译问题导致的乌龙事件。不管有意无意，这么做的后果最终损害的是自己的声誉和形象。
Recent Comments