[A wave of tuberculosis cases has hit the Kansas City, Kansas, metro area, causing dozens of illnesses and at least two deaths. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, as of Friday, there have been at least 67 people treated for confirmed active TB infections and 79 confirmed latent cases. TB germs are spread from person to person through prolonged contact with someone who has an active infection.
The state health department has not said what caused the outbreak, but affected local health departments are working with each patient to identify possible close contacts and conduct TB testing at no cost. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent four staffers to help with the response, including contact tracing, testing, and screening.
People who test positive will be further screened to determine whether they have active TB disease or a latent TB infection, which will help determine the best treatment. The disease is curable and often treated with a standardized course of drugs that usually includes antibiotics. Treatment will be provided through the patient’s local health department and will be provided for free if the person is uninsured or the treatment isn’t covered by health insurance.
Nationally, tuberculosis case counts in the United States increased in 2023 among all age groups and in most reporting jurisdictions. However, the United States has “one of the lowest TB rates in the world” and most US residents are at “minimal risk” for TB. Anyone can get tuberculosis, but people have a higher risk of being exposed to TB germs if they were born in or frequently travel to countries where the disease is common, live in large group settings, or work in places where TB may be more likely to spread.
TB can be prevented with protocols such as vaccination and making sure people who are infected finish their course of treatment. The vaccine is not generally used in the United States because of its low TB incidence rate. People infected with TB bacteria have up to a 10% lifetime risk of becoming sick with the disease, and those with compromised immune systems have a higher risk of falling ill.
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