Major tuberculosis outbreak hits Kansas City area
A
sample that tested positive for tuberculosis is seen from a microscope
in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Magali
Druscovich/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Jan
29 (Reuters) - An outbreak of tuberculosis in the Kansas City area has
grown into one of the largest ever recorded in the United States, with
dozens of active cases of the infectious disease reported, according to
health officials.
As of Jan. 24, 67 active cases of tuberculosis, or TB, had been reported in Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas.
The
outbreak began last year, the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment said on its website. It did not specify a source of the
outbreak.
The
Kansas Department of Health and Environment is monitoring 384 people
for TB exposure and helping with testing and treatment, a spokesperson
said in a statement.
"While this outbreak is larger than normal, the risk remains low for the general public," the spokesperson said.
Tuberculosis,
which spreads through the air, is caused by a bacterium that typically
affects the lungs, but can also impact other parts of the body, such as
the brain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. If not treated, it can be fatal.
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People
can become infected with tuberculosis germs that can live in the body
for years without causing symptoms, called inactive, or latent, TB.
Without receiving treatment, those people can develop active
tuberculosis at any time.
Since
2024, 79 latent infections have been reported in the Kansas City,
Kansas, area, according to the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment.
Four
staff from the CDC are on site providing assistance with contact
tracing, testing and screening and working with community leaders on
health education, an agency spokesperson said.
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The Kansas Department of Health and Environment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. recorded 8,649 cases of tuberculosis last year, and 9,606 in 2023, according to the CDC.
Tuberculosis replaced COVID-19 as the top cause for infectious disease-related deaths
in 2023, according to a World Health Organization report published in
October, highlighting challenges in the global effort in eradicating the
disease.
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While
anyone can contract tuberculosis, it is most commonly found in people
who live or used to live in large group settings or those who frequently
travel to countries where tuberculosis is common.
The
largest tuberculosis outbreak in the U.S. occurred from 2015 through
2017 at a homeless shelter in Georgia, which was responsible for more
than 170 active cases and more than 400 latent cases, according to the
CDC, which began tracking TB cases in the 1950s.
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Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Lisa Shumaker
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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