Lecture on the Illness Named Tuberculosis - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

IELTS Listening section examines a candidate’s ability to carefully listen to audio and answer questions. This topic - A lecture on the illness named tuberculosis is IELTS Listening section four. Candidates need to answer the following IELTS listening question types:

• Note completion

Audio Transcript:

You will hear a lecture on the illness, tuberculosis. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

Pause the recording for one minute.

Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.

Hello there. Can I have your attention please? We've got a lot to cover today and we need to get started. If you recall, last week, we discussed the AIDS epidemic and its effect on health care systems in the countries with the highest incidents. Well today I'm going to speak about another significant disease that is rather closely associated with the AIDS epidemic, tuberculosis. In the UK active tuberculosis, otherwise known as TB was common in the 19th century. The old consumption of romantic novels. Since then, better living conditions, better nutrition, immunization and effective treatments in the 20th century have all combined to make TB uncommon in the UK today. However, TB is still common in developing countries and parts of eastern Europe. It causes more deaths worldwide than any other infectious disease, about 3 million per year.

This is a tragic statistic, since TB is now generally a curable disease. Overall one-third of the world's population is currently infected with the bacteria that cause TB. However, people infected with TB bacilli will not necessarily become sick with the disease. The immune system walls off the TB bacilli which protected by a thick waxy coat can lie dormant for years. It's estimated that five to ten percent of people who are infected with TB bacilli, but who are not infected with HIV become sick or infectious at some time during their life. Left untreated, each person with active TB disease will infect on average between 10 and 15 people every year.

There are certain risk factors that make certain people more likely to become ill with TB. When people's immune systems are weakened, their chances of becoming sick are greater. For example, due to HIV infection, immune-suppressing treatment or alcohol or drug addiction age is also a factor with babies, young children and the elderly being most susceptible. In addition poor nutrition and lack of vitamin D are linked to TB.

Finally, TB is more common in certain environments such as among homeless people, among prisoners in large cities and in more impoverished areas. Until 50 years ago, there were no medicines to cure TB. Finding medicines to cure TB was a tremendous breakthrough, but now strains that are resistant to a single drug have been documented in every country surveyed. What's more? Strains of TB resistant to all major anti-TB drugs have emerged. Drug-resistant TB is caused by inconsistent or partial treatment when patients do not take all their medicines regularly for the required period.

Because they start to feel better, because doctors and health workers prescribed the wrong treatment regimens or because the drug supply is unreliable. A particularly dangerous form of drug-resistant TB is multi-drug resistant TB abbreviated as MDR-TB which is defined as the disease caused by TB bacilli resistant to at least the two most powerful anti-TB drugs. Rates of MDR-TB are high in some countries, especially in the former Soviet Union and threatened TB control efforts. While drug-resistant TB is generally treatable, it requires extensive chemotherapy. Up to two years of treatment with second line anti-TB drugs. These second-line drugs are more costly than first-line drugs and produce adverse drug reactions that are more severe, though still manageable.

The recent emergence of extensively drug-resistant TB called XDR-TB particularly in settings, where many TB patients are also infected with HIV poses a serious threat to TB control and confirms the urgent need to strengthen basic TB control and to apply the new WHO guidelines for the management of drug-resistant TB.

SECTION 4
Questions 31-40

Complete the notes below.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

COURSE: epidemiology 101 DATE: 23 May

Tuberculosis (also called TB)

Tuberculosis is closely associated with the 31__________

Answer: AIDS epidemic

Explanation: According to the lecture, the illness tuberculosis is very closely related to the AIDS epidemic.

Also check:

In the UK:
common in the 19th century

since then better living conditions, 32__________ immunisation and effective treatments have made it uncommon.

Answer: better nutrition

Explanation: Tuberculosis was common in the UK in the 19th century, and better nutrition, immunization, and effective treatments made it uncommon in the 20th century.

Globally:

still common in 33__________ and

Answer: developing countries

Explanation: Though, tuberculosis is still common in developing countries and eastern Europe.

parts of 34__________

Answer: Eastern Europe

Explanation: Tuberculosis is still common in the Eastern part of Europe.

cause 35__________ deaths per year; more than any other infectious disease.

Answer: three million

Explanation: Tuberculosis causes more than 3 million deaths per year that is more than any other infectious disease.

overall, 36__________ of the world’s population is infected but not everyone gets sick.

Answer: one third

Explanation: Almost one-third of the world’s population gets infected with tuberculosis but not everyone falls sick.

Risk factors

a weakened immune system – due to HIV infection, immune-suppressing treatment, or alcohol or

37__________ age-babies and the elderly are more likely to become sick.

Answer: drug addiction

Explanation: The major reasons behind people getting TB are, weakened immune system, immune-suppressing treatment, alcohol, or drug addiction.

certain environment – more common among homeless people, among prisoners, and people in

38__________ and in more impoverished areas.

Answer: large cities

Explanation: TB is more common among homeless people, prisoners in large cities.

Treatment

50 years ago, away 39__________ TB was found.

Answer: to cure

Explanation: The cure to the disease tuberculosis was found 50 years back.

The most recent form of tuberculosis, XDR-TB, poses a 40__________ to general TB control.

Answer: (serious) threat

Explanation: Though the recent form of tuberculosis, namely, XDR-TB, poses a serious threat to the general TB control.