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Letter: Canada can do better in fight against tuberculosis

Editor: World Tuberculosis Day is March 24.

Could we truly eradicate tuberculosis? I am hoping that the answer to this question lies within us and that with a fresh new federal government in power, we might be able to persuade the Canadian public to consider a world without this age old disease.

It is tempting to think that this does not affect us in Canada, however, in the far north, it is still a huge problem.

Given that one person with TB can infect 10 to 15 others within a year, it behooves us to do something about this.

This year’s World Tuberculosis Day will be marked with the unfortunate distinction that we have now allowed this preventable, curable disease to become the world’s biggest communicable killer.

On World TB Day, let us consider what each one of us might be able to do to push in the right direction. To quote lead singer Bono of U2: “Because we can, we must!”

Connie Lebeau,

Victoria