環(huán)球英語 — 778：Tetanus: The Silent Killer

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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ruby Jones.

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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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We begin today with a story from an old newspaper. The story is about the discovery of a medicine to fight a silent enemy:

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"Once again the Pasteur Institute in Paris and its helpers have rescued humanity. They have taken an important step towards extending human lives. During the last six months, these scientists have performed a hundred experiments with a new injection. Results show that the injection provides protection against the disease tetanus."

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That newspaper report was from the International Herald Tribune. It was printed on January the 16th, 1926. The report praised the invention of a new tetanus injection - a vaccine. Tetanus is a disease that causes the body to become hard and unable to move. In some cases it can lead to death. The invention of this new vaccine protected people from the disease.

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Today, 80 years later, richer countries do not have many cases of tetanus. This is thanks to the vaccine. Doctors inject children with the vaccine at an early age. But tetanus still affects people in many developing countries. Some countries do not have the money to buy enough vaccines for the whole population.

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Although humans can protect themselves against tetanus, we cannot remove its cause. This is because bacteria that live in the soil cause the disease. The bacteria can also live in animal and human waste. People become infected when these bacteria enter the blood. This can happen through a cut or wound. It can also happen during child birth.

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A mother may be infected with tetanus during child birth. This is called maternal tetanus. Tetanus can also infect the baby at this time. This is called neonatal tetanus. Every year about 140,000 babies die from neonatal tetanus. About 30,000 new mothers die from maternal tetanus. Babies and mothers from poor areas are particularly at risk.

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The only way to treat neonatal Tetanus is with costly medicines from a hospital. The disease can be prevented however. Giving birth to the baby in clean conditions helps. The tetanus bacteria can infect the baby if dirty instruments are used during birth. It is also important to keep the baby's stomach area clean after birth.

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Unicef is a United Nations organisation that cares for children. It describes the effect that tetanus can have on babies:

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'When the bacteria enter the body they produce an extremely strong poison. The poison attacks the nervous system. This causes uncontrollable movements and the body becomes hard - first, in the mouth and neck, and then in the back and stomach. The child becomes unable to take its mother's milk. After that, the child can become unable to breathe. The disease leads to death in between 70 and 100 percent of cases. The true number that tetanus kills is not known. This is because many babies and mothers die at home. Such cases are often not reported. That is why tetanus is called the "silent killer".'

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Philip O Brien works for Unicef. He says the disease is linked to the world's poorest countries.

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'If you are a child born in a poor country your risks are higher. Most of the countries that have a problem with maternal and neonatal tetanus are among the 50 poorest in the world.'

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One of these countries is the Central African Republic. Here, one person who has seen the effects of neonatal tetanus is Tatyana. Her baby boy, Kpa suffered from the effects of tetanus. Tatyana walked over fifteen kilometres to find a hospital. She and her baby were lucky. Her community paid for baby Kpa's treatment. It was costly. But the community knew it could save Kpa's life.

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Since then, many of the women of Tatyana's community have received the tetanus vaccine. Doctors can treat some babies who already have tetanus. But many babies die. So prevention is the best way of fighting the disease. The women of Tatyana's community are among one and a half million [1,500,000] people who have received the vaccine in the Central African Republic. This should prevent more babies like Kpa from catching the disease.

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Over the last few years more countries have been giving vaccinations to their people. These countries have been supported by Unicef and the World Health Organisation. These organisations hope to get rid of tetanus all over the world.

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But getting rid of the disease completely is not easy. In 1989 the World Health Organisation said that it aimed to get rid of tetanus among mothers and babies. It defined getting rid of the disease as having less than one case for every thousand births in the country. It aimed to do this by 1995.

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However, the world did not meet the target. So the WHO moved the target to the year 2000, then 2005. But the disease is still a problem today. In June 2008, tetanus at childbirth was still a problem in 46 countries. So, the fight continues.

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Thousands more people are receiving the vaccination. And in October 2008 Unicef published a new target. It said it wanted to get rid of maternal and neonatal tetanus by 2012.

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To help towards this target, Unicef has made a deal with the company that makes Pampers. Pampers are babies' diapers, or nappies. Babies who are too young to use the toilet wear these diapers. The deal agrees that when parents buy diapers for their babies, some of the money is given to Unicef. Austin Lally works for the company that makes the diapers - Procter and Gamble. He says,

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'Tetanus is a completely preventable disease. Children around the world can be protected from this disease. It just takes the cost of a simple vaccine. We have a moral responsibility to help get rid of this disease.'

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Tetanus is a disease that people in richer countries rarely think about. But for mothers and babies in many poorer countries it can be serious risk. All it takes to protect them is a vaccine. This vaccine only costs about five cents. But for those who receive it, it can be worth millions.