Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Right now it has made headlines due to an active outbreak occurring in Kansas. The risk to the public remains low at this time, but continue reading to learn more about symptoms, prevention, and treatment.
You may have seen the headlines about Tuberculosis (TB) cases in Kansas. For many people, TB is a disease they don’t often think about unless reading a historical novel or watching a movie that discusses “consumption” (the old name for TB). This makes the current headlines extra concerning because people do not realize how common TB still is around the world.
Tuberculosis (TB) [archived link] is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. According to the CDC there were 9,633 cases [archived link] of TB in the USA in 2023. The World Health Organization states that 10.8 million people had TB in 2023 and 1.25 million people died. This means TB is one of the leading causes of infection-related deaths. Treatments and preventions do exist, but accessing them can be challenging depending on what country you live in.
There are two categories of TB infection:
- Inactive TB: Inactive TB, also known as latent TB, occurs when the bacterium lives inside of a person without making them sick. People with inactive TB are not contagious, but the bacterium can turn into active TB at any time.
- Active TB: Active TB occurs when the bacterium is copying itself inside the person and their immune system cannot control it. The person will experience symptoms and is contagious.
Symptoms of active TB include:
- A cough for more than three weeks
- Chest pain
- Coughing up blood
- Weakness or fatigue
- Weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Chills
- Fever
When left untreated, active TB can spread from the lungs to the nervous system and can result in death.
How is TB prevented, diagnosed, and treated?
There is a tuberculosis vaccine, called Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) [archived link], but it is not routinely used in the USA. However, BCG is used in other parts of the world. It is not very effective in adults but is about 80% effective at preventing severe TB in children and infants.
TB spreads through the air when someone with an active infection coughs, speaks, sings, etcetera…
Diagnosis [archived link] is made based on collecting a sample of sputum (mucus from the lungs) or blood, or via a skin test. Those who have had the BCG vaccine will test positive on the skin test, but may not actually have TB. Therefore, these people should be tested via the blood test.
Both latent and active TB can be treated with antibiotics, but the treatment period can be long and complicated. There are two categories of TB for treatment purposes – drug-susceptible TB (which means that the standard set of antibiotics work to kill the bacteria) and multidrug-resistant TB (meaning the usual antibiotics do not work). Those with drug-susceptible TB [archived link] are treated with multiple antibiotics at once for four to nine months. Those with multidrug-resistant TB have more complicated treatments [archived link] and it is much harder to cure these patients. The exact treatment plan varies depending on which antibiotics work for their TB infection and which do not.
Why is TB in the news so much right now?
You are hearing about TB a lot right now because there is an outbreak in Kansas that has made the national headlines. As of Feb 7th, 2025, the Kansas health departmentreports that there are currently 67 cases of active TB and 79 cases of latent TB.
Kansas is working with the active cases to identify and test people they may have exposed. This outbreak has been going on since January 2024 and has resulted in two deaths.
Some headlines have called this the largest outbreak in USA history, which is not currently true. There were larger outbreaks in homeless shelters in Georgia [archived link] and a nationwide outbreak linked to bone transplants. However, we have been seeing more cases [archived link] in the USA and cases are now higher than they were in 2019.
The cases happening in Kansas are concerning because they indicate potential weakness in our public health systems to protect those at risk. However, the risk of TB for most people is still very low. We will update if new important information is released.
In the meantime, remember that we know how to reduce the risk of airborne infections like TB through things like improved ventilation, covering coughs and sneezes, and masking.
Stay safe!
Link to Original Substack Post
