Curing Leprosy

Transcript

Voice 1 

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Adam Navis.

Voice 2 

And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier
for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

Kajal is nine years old. She lives in India with her mother and four brothers and sisters.
One and a half years ago, Kajal saw strange white areas of skin on her arms and her
back. These white patches of skin began to spread, getting larger. Doctors in her area
tried many different medicines to stop the white patches from growing. But nothing
worked.

Voice 2 

Kajal’s mother thought that the patches might be a sign of leprosy. So Kajal and her
mother and brothers and sisters travelled for two days to an American Leprosy Mission
hospital in Nepal. There, doctors discovered that Kajal had severe leprosy. They began
treating her.

Voice 1 

Leprosy is an ancient and frightening disease. And it still affects people around the
world. But many organizations are working to stop it. Today’s Spotlight is on the
methods and tools these organizations are using to get rid of leprosy.

Voice 2

Leprosy often begins as a simple skin condition. A person may notice a small change on
his or her skin - like Kajal did. Then the small affected areas grow. But it is not always
clear that the cause is leprosy. Malcom Duthie is a scientist at the Infectious Disease
Research Institute. He studies leprosy. He told reporter Rachel Solomon:

Voice 3 

“The first way leprosy presents itself is as lesions - damage to the skin. It can look very
much like a lot of other diseases. Patients often get treated for the wrong thing.”

Voice 1 
Health workers often waste time treating for common skin conditions. And when
leprosy is not treated quickly, it becomes dangerous. A person with leprosy may
become blind. And he may lose the sense of feeling in parts of his body. This means he
is more likely to become injured. People with leprosy can even lose parts of their bodies
because of these injuries. The disease damages a person’s body permanently.

Voice 2 

Because of the way a person’s body looks, people do not want to be near him. It is not
easy to get leprosy from another person. But people still fear that they will also get
leprosy. This way of thinking is another reason people fear this disease so much. If a
person gets leprosy he suffers from the disease. But he also suffers because people do
not want to be near him.

Voice 1

Experts are not exactly sure how leprosy spreads. They believe it spreads through a
person’s breath. People breathe in the leprosy bacteria from the air around them and
become infected. Experts believe that even when leprosy bacteria become dry, they can
still spread the disease. Experts cannot grow leprosy bacteria in a laboratory. So, it is
difficult to study it.

Voice 2 

Experts do know that a person can have leprosy and not even know it. After the bacteria
enter a person’s body, they work very slowly. People can carry leprosy bacteria for five
to ten years before they see any sign of it. This means that they can also spread the
disease without knowing it.

Voice 1 

But people can cure leprosy. The treatment for leprosy is a combination of drugs. A
patient takes the drugs for six months to a year. After the treatment, he is cured.
However, any damage to his body is permanent. That is why it is so important to
identify leprosy very quickly.

Voice 2

In 1991, the World Health Organization began to offer free drug treatment for any
person who had leprosy. And they worked to expand knowledge of the disease. When
people know about the disease, they can report it earlier. Today, leprosy is not very
common. However, many organizations are working to get rid of leprosy completely.

Voice 1 

Most cases of leprosy are reported in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. But hope is
coming to these areas. Two new tools promise to change the future for leprosy. The first
is a test. And the second is a vaccine.

Voice 2 
A test for leprosy can help people know if they have it - even before they show signs of
the disease. The Infectious Disease Research Institute developed this small tester. Many
people who have leprosy, or live in areas where leprosy is common, are not able to
easily visit a leprosy expert. Local health workers may not be able to easily identify a
skin condition as leprosy. However, if a health worker thinks a person might have
leprosy, she can use this test. The test can tell her in only a few minutes if a person has
leprosy or not.

Voice 1 

The tester is very easy to use. Anyone can use it! A health worker takes a drop of blood
from a patient. She puts the drop of blood onto the test. Then she places three drops of
liquid solution on top of the blood. She waits for a few minutes. If one line appears, the
test is negative. But if two lines appear, the test is positive - the person has leprosy and
can begin treatment. Duthie explained to reporter Rachel Solomon:

Voice 3 

“It takes a lot of pressure off the health worker looking at symptoms saying ‘Hmm, you
could have leprosy, you could have a fungal infection, you could have this other thing.’
It gives the health worker something so that during your visit to the doctor you can get a
clear answer.”

Voice 2 

The second tool that will change the future of leprosy is a vaccine. A vaccine prevents a
person from getting a disease. Many leprosy experts believe that a vaccine is the most
powerful way to get rid of leprosy. That is why the Infectious Disease Research
Institute, or IDRI, is working to develop one.

Voice 1

For that reason, the IDRI is working on two vaccines. One vaccine will be for people
who are at risk of getting leprosy. The second vaccine will be for people who have
recently gotten leprosy. People cannot get the vaccines yet. Researchers are still testing
them. But organizations working against leprosy, like IDRI, have great hopes that they
will work.

Voice 2 

In the past, people who had leprosy had to leave their homes and cities. They had little
hope. But today, victims of leprosy can be cured. If they recognize the disease early,
there is little damage to their body. And there is hope that in the future, leprosy will
disappear. It will no longer threaten anyone.

Voice 1 

The writer and producer of this program was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from
the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program
and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our program on the internet at
www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘Curing Leprosy’.
Voice 2 

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search for spotlightradio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.
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Question:
What diseases scare you?