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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Patrick Woodward.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm Alice Irasari. Spotlight uses a special English method

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<v Speaker 2>of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no

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<v Speaker 2>matter where in the world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>Juan Euryta first went to the hospital in two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>and three. His last visit was in twenty fifteen for

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<v Speaker 1>the same disease. Eurata had an infection in his lungs.

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<v Speaker 1>It made it difficult to breathe. He felt weak all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. Sometimes blood filled his mouth, but the doctors

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<v Speaker 1>could not cure him. For many years, Juan had a

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<v Speaker 1>disease called tuberculosis.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's spotlight is on tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is an ancient disease.

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<v Speaker 2>Experts have found evidence of human infection as far back

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<v Speaker 2>as ancient Egypt, but the bacteria that causes the disease

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<v Speaker 2>is probably much older. Experts believe it appeared four to

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<v Speaker 2>six thousand years ago in Africa. The disease then spread

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<v Speaker 2>worldwide through trading. The disease also spread to animals. These

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<v Speaker 2>animals then brought the disease to the Americas over a

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<v Speaker 2>thousand years ago.

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<v Speaker 1>Even in those days, tuberculosis was deadly. Tuberculosis starts as

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<v Speaker 1>a disease of the lungs. It spreads through the air.

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<v Speaker 1>The disease infects cells that normally defend the body. Attacked

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<v Speaker 1>areas often expand in size, damaging the lungs. People with

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<v Speaker 1>tuberculosis have difficulty breathing, they feel weak, and may find

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<v Speaker 1>blood in their mouths. Tuberculosis can also spread to other

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<v Speaker 1>parts of the body. Even when cured, tuberculosis causes permanent damage.

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<v Speaker 1>About half the people who show signs of tuberculosis die

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<v Speaker 1>if they are not treated.

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<v Speaker 2>But tuberculosis is deadly for another reason. How it spreads.

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<v Speaker 2>Tuberculosis does not spread quickly, but the disease infects many

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<v Speaker 2>people in ways that do not show This is called

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<v Speaker 2>having latent tuberculosis. A person with latent tuberculosis has the

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<v Speaker 2>disease within their body. It does not hurt them, but

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<v Speaker 2>tuberculosis is hard to get rid of. It can start

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<v Speaker 2>making someone sick at any time. About ten percent of

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<v Speaker 2>people with latent tuberculosis show signs. Later, the disease can

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<v Speaker 2>come back over and over again.

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<v Speaker 1>Tuberculosis has been a problem ever since it appeared, but

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<v Speaker 1>the disease grew to its worst in Europe and North

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<v Speaker 1>America during the eighteen hundreds. In Europe it was called

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<v Speaker 1>the White plague. In North America, some called it the

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<v Speaker 1>Captain of all these men of death. Experts believe that

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<v Speaker 1>tuberculosis was responsible for twenty five percent of all deaths

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States at that time. Franz Kafka was

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<v Speaker 1>a German writer who died from tuberculosis. He wrote to

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<v Speaker 1>his friend Max Brod about his sickness.

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<v Speaker 3>Above all, I am tired. I lie for hours, barely

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<v Speaker 3>a week. I am not doing well. The doctor does

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<v Speaker 3>say that the trouble in the lung has.

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<v Speaker 4>Improved, but I would say that it is far more

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<v Speaker 4>than twice as bad. I have never had such a

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<v Speaker 4>hard time breathing. I have never felt such weakness.

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<v Speaker 2>Millions of other people experience sickness like Kafka's, but they

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<v Speaker 2>would soon find hope. Robert Cook was a doctor from Prussia.

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<v Speaker 2>This country contained what are today parts of Germany, Russia, Poland, Denmark, Belgium,

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<v Speaker 2>and the Czech Republic. Cook was the first person to

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<v Speaker 2>discover what caused tuberculosis, a disease causing bacteria, and in

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen hundred and six other scientists developed a vaccine for

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<v Speaker 2>the disease. This injection would prevent tuberculosis infection. Cook wrote

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<v Speaker 2>soon after his discovery.

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<v Speaker 5>In the future, the fight against this terrible disease of

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<v Speaker 5>mankind will deal no longer with an unknown thing. It

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<v Speaker 5>will deal with a real creature. Its living conditions are,

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<v Speaker 5>for the most part known. They be investigated more.

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<v Speaker 1>Other developments followed. Albert Schatz, Elizabeth Boogie, and Selman Waxman

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<v Speaker 1>were American scientists. They discovered a substance called streptomycin in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen forty four. Streptomycin killed tuberculosis without hurting patients. Other

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<v Speaker 1>drugs like it, called antibiotics, came quickly after. Together with vaccination,

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<v Speaker 1>these drugs fought back against tuberculosis. These treatments reduced the

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<v Speaker 1>number of people the disease killed by fifty one percent.

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<v Speaker 1>It seemed as if the world had the tools to

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<v Speaker 1>remove tuberculosis altogether.

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<v Speaker 2>Sadly, these medicines were not enough. By the nineteen eighties,

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<v Speaker 2>the tuberculosis bacteria started changing. It grew resistant to many drugs.

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<v Speaker 2>Doctors needed new drugs to treat the disease, but scientists

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<v Speaker 2>did not develop them. Tuberculosis seemed like it was almost gone,

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<v Speaker 2>so money went to fight other diseases.

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<v Speaker 1>Tuberculosis started spreading in Africa and Asia in countries that

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<v Speaker 1>could not research the disease as quickly. Wealthier countries could

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<v Speaker 1>have helped, but for these countries, the disease no longer

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<v Speaker 1>seemed like a danger. Their streets were clean, their children

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<v Speaker 1>were safe. Aid went to other things. As a result,

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<v Speaker 1>other countries suffered. Tuberculosis grew strong in places that were

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<v Speaker 1>closely populated and where the people were poorest.

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<v Speaker 2>Another disease helped this spread. It is called HIV. HIV

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<v Speaker 2>is a disease that attacks the body's defensive cells. It

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<v Speaker 2>makes it more difficult to fight other diseases. Tuberculosis takes

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<v Speaker 2>advantage of these weakened defenses. Today, a third of all

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<v Speaker 2>people infected with HIV also have tuberculosis. The disease causes

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<v Speaker 2>forty percent of deaths related to HIV. In most years,

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<v Speaker 2>tuberculosis kills more people than any other disease. The only

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<v Speaker 2>bigger killer was COVID nineteen in twenty twenty one and

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty two.

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<v Speaker 1>The risk of tuberculosis is still very high, but today

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<v Speaker 1>there is some hope. Research into new drugs for tuberculosis

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<v Speaker 1>is ongoing. New drugs are not easy to find, but

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<v Speaker 1>with more money, these new drugs could reduce the danger

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<v Speaker 1>of tuberculosis.

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<v Speaker 2>There is also more testing being done in countries with

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<v Speaker 2>a higher risk of the disease. Testing and treating those

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<v Speaker 2>with the disease has worked before to prevent its spread.

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<v Speaker 2>The world simply needs to renew its concern to defeat

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<v Speaker 2>the disease, and it appears it may be doing so.

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<v Speaker 2>Doctor Tedros gaber Jesus is the director of the World

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<v Speaker 2>Health Organization.

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<v Speaker 6>He said, today we have the knowledge and tools, we

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<v Speaker 6>have the political will we can end this thousand year

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<v Speaker 6>old disease that remains one of the world's top killers.

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<v Speaker 1>The world has previously eliminated diseases like smallpox, can it

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<v Speaker 1>do the same with tuberculosis. You can leave a comment

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<v Speaker 1>on our website at www dot Spotlight English dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and x.

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<v Speaker 2>The writer and producer of this program was Dan Christman.

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<v Speaker 2>The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and

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<v Speaker 2>the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program

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<v Speaker 2>and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program

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<v Speaker 2>again and read it on the internet at www dot

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<v Speaker 2>Radio English dot net.

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<v Speaker 1>This program is called Curing Tuberculosis. We hope you can

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<v Speaker 1>join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,