Mireia Coscollá, investigator from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (STPH), pointed out "To find a vaccine against Tuberculosis will not be easy. Even though it is a key piece in the fight against this disease, the behaviour of the bacteria that causes the disease is still not fully understood, as well as how our immune system reacts to it", during her visit to Navarra University. The Microbiologist imparted several sessions at the Institute of Tropical Health (ISTUN), The Microbiology and Parasitology department and Medicine Faculty.

Besides the obstacles in the advances against tuberculosis, the microbiologist emphasized on the appearance of new technologies of great utility, which permit the analyses of images in a simple manner and facilitate the diagnosis of diseases "in those places or small health centres that lack of experts and more advanced diagnostic methods"

On the other hand she explained that the absence of funding for investigation of tropical diseases is a problem, however "every day more organizations are interested and support the investigation against these kinds of illnesses like the Bill Gates Foundation" Tuberculosis has to be a goal for all whom are interested in improving the health of the planet" she added.

Finally she referred to the work done at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. "We work in order to better understand the disease and develop diagnostic methods and treatments. We study evolution and diversity of the bacteria and how it affects the disease making it more or less virulent. To achieve this we cooperate with countries like Tanzania, Uganda or Ghana in Africa and Georgia in Europe".

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that mainly affects the lungs. It is a disease of great prevalence around the world, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and south-east Asia. In 2013 more than 1.200.000 people died and more than 8 million acquired the disease. Currently an efficient vaccine for children exists, but an efficient and safe treatment is yet to be found in order to restrain the development of the illness in adults.