英语课程计划-World Tuberculosis Day（在线收听）

World Tuberculosis Day falls on March 24th each year. It is sponsored by the World Health Organisation. Its aim is to raise global awareness that tuberculosis is still an epidemic in many parts of the world. Many people in rich countries believe the disease has largely been wiped out. This is untrue. Tuberculosis (TB) kills over 1.6 million people each year. Almost all deaths are in the world’s poorest nations. March 24th is the day when Dr. Robert Koch made the discovery of the cause of tuberculosis in 1882. He identified the TB bacillus. In the late nineteenth century, TB was a major killer, responsible for the deaths of 15 per cent of the populations of America and Europe. Dr. Koch's discovery helped find a cure for TB.

Tuberculosis is a disease that is spread through the air. It is preventable and curable, if people can get access to the right medicine. In rich countries, babies have injections to give them lifelong protection from TB. Babies in poorer countries are not as lucky. Over 1.5 million people died from TB in 2006. People who catch the disease have the TB bacillus in their lungs. They spread the disease when they cough, making it highly contagious. The symptoms of tuberculosis are a terrible cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. The disease can also seriously affect other body organs. The WHO is working to halve the number of TB deaths by 2015.