HEALTH REPORT - Finding and Treating Tuberculosis

HEALTH REPORT - Finding¹ and Treating Tuberculosis²
By Karen Leggett

Broadcast: Wednesday, September 08, 2004

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Health Report.

Experts on tuberculosis say the best treatment program for this lung disease³ is DOTS. DOTS is directly observed treatment, short-course. This means health care workers watch patients take their medicine every day. This is a way to make sure patients take medicine long enough to kill the germs⁴ that cause TB.

China recently reported a drop in tuberculosis rates because of DOTS. There has also been some success in the Philippines. But public health centers identified only sixty percent of TB cases in the country. So Philippine health officials have decided⁵ also to include private doctors in the program.

Experts hope such efforts will reduce the spread of the kind of tuberculosis that resists common drugs. People with drug-resistant TB must take medicines that cost much more. And they must take these for eighteen to twenty-four months.

Normally⁶, patients with TB must take medicine for six to eight months. The DOTS program calls for direct observation for the first two months at least.

Health experts say most people treated for TB are cured. But getting people to take all their medicine is not the only problem. Around the world, experts say only thirty-seven percent of TB cases are ever identified.

The World Health Organization is trying new ways to educate people to see a health worker as soon as they show signs of the disease. Earlier this year, a program started in Kenya. The program is called COMBI, which means Communication for Behavioral Impact⁷.

Kenyan schoolchildren take home information about TB. People also get information through television and in movies and when they go into businesses. Colorful signs identify health care centers where people can be tested.

Doctors say people who have a cough that does not go away after three weeks should get tested for TB. Infected people spread the bacteria through the air when they cough. Also, people with TB often have hiccups⁸ that will not stop. They may sweat at night and feel very hot.

Yet there are reasons why people do not go to a doctor when they have signs of TB. They may not think a cough is very serious. They may need to keep working even though they are sick. Finding a doctor may not be easy. In the words of a W.H.O. report, "Knowing what to do is different from doing it."

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Karen Leggett. This is Gwen Outen.

1 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

2 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

3 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

4 germs   

n.微生物( germ的名词复数 )；病菌；起源；发端

参考例句：

• Dirty hands can be a breeding ground for germs. 脏手会滋生病菌。
• The air is full of millions of invisible germs. 空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

7 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？

8 hiccups   

n.嗝( hiccup的名词复数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿v.嗝( hiccup的第三人称单数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿

参考例句：

• I cannot find a rhyme to "hiccups". 我不能找到和hiccups同韵的词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can we rhyme 'hiccups'with 'pick-ups'? 我们能把‘hiccups’同‘pick－ups’放在一起押韵吗？ 来自辞典例句