Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid.
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And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight 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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In 1763, Great Britain and France were at war in North America. The people already living there, the Native Americans, were caught in the middle. Writer Helen Jaskoski shares a story from the war about a group of Native Americans called the Ottawas.
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The Ottawas received a gift in a tin box. They were not to open it until they arrived back to their people. They believed that inside the box there was something to help their people. When the Ottawas arrived at their home, they opened the box. Inside there was another box, and another. Finally, they came to a very small box - only a few centimeters long. Inside this box was a small amount of particles that looked like dust.
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The Ottawas investigated the dust. Many of them looked at it closely, but they did not know what it was. Soon after this, a terrible sickness invaded the Ottawa camp. Everyone who got this sickness died. Records say that there were bodies everywhere.
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Today's Spotlight is on this terrible sickness – smallpox. This disease has always been extremely dangerous. But today, people have the chance to destroy it completely. But should we? In today's program we tell about this disease and the debate about destroying it.
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Smallpox is a terrible and deadly disease. About two weeks after a person becomes infected, he begins to show symptoms, or signs, of smallpox. After this two week period, he experiences two to four days of high fever. Then a rash appears - areas of the skin show red bumps, small raised areas. The rash begins on the face and legs. Then it spreads around the body. The rash becomes worse and worse. It turns into large bumps filled with liquid - pustules. After a time these pustules form scabs - skin that dries over the wounds. During this time of the virus, an infected person can spread the disease. Small particles fall off the pustules and scabs. People breathe the particles and become infected. Smallpox is very contagious - it spreads very easily.
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The disease is finally finished about two weeks after symptoms begin. But many people will not survive that long. The smallpox virus kills about 30% of the people who get it. And in weaker populations, the number is even higher. People who survive often show permanent marks of the virus. Many become blind. There is no cure for smallpox. When people become infected, the only treatment is to try and make them more comfortable.
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Smallpox has been a serious world health problem for many years. Experts believe that smallpox first appeared in Egypt over ten thousand years ago. Preserved bodies from ancient Egypt show evidence of smallpox marks. From Egypt, it spread to India, and through the rest of the world. The first officially recorded case of smallpox was in China. That was 2,000 years ago. In the 1500s the South American Aztec, Mayan and Inca kingdoms were all destroyed by smallpox. People all over the world feared this deadly virus. And it is easy to see why!
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But in 1796 Edward Jenner produced a form of protection from smallpox - a vaccine drug. Slowly, Jenner's vaccine gained popularity. It also became more and more safe. People who received the vaccine injection before they got smallpox were safe. Soon, people all over the world were using this vaccine.
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In the 1950s and 60s the World Health Organization and other world leaders became serious about fighting smallpox. They produced a great amount of the newest smallpox vaccine. Teams travelled the world, giving the vaccine to every person. Then something happened that had never happened before in the history of the world. No person in the world had smallpox. The last natural case of smallpox was in Somalia in 1977. And in 1980, the WHO declared the world officially FREE of smallpox.
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Today, people do not get the vaccine for smallpox - they do not need it. However, small amounts - samples - of this disease exist. There are two official samples. They are in two laboratories: at the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and at VECTOR in Russia. During the WHO's fight against smallpox, these two places were important. So after smallpox was gone permanently, the WHO ordered countries around the world to send their samples of the virus to one of these two laboratories. Today, the samples of smallpox are stored safely in liquid nitrogen freezers. They are protected by many security measures. But the question is now: what do we do with these samples of this deadly virus?
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Some experts believe that we should destroy the virus samples. They say we have enough information about the virus. We have a map of its DNA. We do not need the samples - instead we can look at the information we already have. They say the virus samples are dangerous. One dishonest scientist could steal a small sample of the disease. He could sell it to be used as a weapon. Even a very small amount of the virus could grow and be very deadly. Or, the virus could even be released accidentally.
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But other experts say that destroying the smallpox samples would be a terrible mistake. They say people still have a lot to learn from the smallpox virus. Scientists still do not know EXACTLY how it affects people - why it is SO deadly. Or it is possible that the smallpox virus samples could be useful in fighting a different disease.
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Also, the samples in the US and Russia are registered - they are official samples. But other countries might have illegal unregistered samples. If the official samples are destroyed, these countries could use their samples as weapons. If someone DID create a weapon using smallpox, it would be useful to have the samples. Some experts say that we cannot know what will happen in the future. These smallpox samples may be very useful - even if we do not know it yet.
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Finally, can people really decide to destroy something completely from the earth? The smallpox virus is deadly. But it is alive. Many people around the world believe that only God should have the power to destroy something completely.
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In the past, the World Health Assembly has voted a few times to destroy the virus samples. But, then they vote again later to keep the samples. In May 2011, this issue will appear again. The World Health Assembly will discuss the destruction of the smallpox virus. Will they vote to destroy the samples? Will they vote to keep the samples? There are good reasons for both sides. Tell us what you think by emailing us at radio @ english . net.
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