Tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas City area - one of the largest in the US ever: Dozens of active cases

A tuberculosis outbreak 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, health officials said, Reuters reported.

As of January 24, 67 active cases of tuberculosis have been reported in Wyandot and Johnson counties in Kansas.

The outbreak began last year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said on its website.

The source of the outbreak has not been specified.

Tuberculosis, which spreads through the air, is caused by a bacteria that usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If left untreated, it can be fatal.

People can be infected with tuberculosis germs that can live in the body for years without causing symptoms, which is called inactive or latent tuberculosis.

Without treatment, these people can develop active tuberculosis at any time.

Since 2024, 79 latent infections have been reported in the Kansas City area, according to the state's Department of Health and Environment.

Four CDC staff members are on site providing assistance with contact tracing, testing and screening, and working with community leaders on health education, a spokesperson for the agency said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US recorded 8.649 cases of tuberculosis last year, and 2023 in 9.606, according to the CDC.

Tuberculosis replaced COVID-19 as the leading cause of death from infectious diseases in 2023, according to a World Health Organization report released in October, highlighting challenges in global efforts to eradicate the disease.

Although anyone can get tuberculosis, it is most common in people who live or have lived in large groups or in those who frequently travel to countries where tuberculosis is common.

The largest TB outbreak in the U.S. occurred from 2015 to 2017 at a homeless shelter in the state of 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.