A medical expert and Professor of Medical Microbiology, University of Calabar, Anne Asuquo, has said tuberculosis cannot be eradicated without increasing the living condition of people.

March 24 every year is set aside by the United Nations to mark World Tuberculosis Day.

Speaking in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Asuquo said the disease was tied to poverty.

“Indeed we can end TB. Unfortunately, ending TB has been a daunting task. I call it ‘an ancient disease that insists on modern tools for eradication’. However, despite the challenges of TB elimination as a public health disease, a lot of progress has been made. But more is required.

“While the global plan to end TB continues, to provide direction for TB care, prevention, research and development to find new tools, between 2023 and 2030, my message today is quite simple.

“TB is intimately tied to poverty. So, we cannot end it without improving the living conditions of people. Malnutrition exacerbates TB because it impacts on the immune system resulting in the reactivation of latent infections,” he stated.