CDC reports tuberculosis case counts and rates have been increasing since 2020

Tuberculosis (TB) case counts and rates have been increasing since 2020, according to research published in the March 28 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Paula M. Williams, Dr.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues obtained TB case counts from the National TB Surveillance System. Rates were calculated overall and by jurisdiction, birth origin, race and ethnicity, and age group.

The researchers found that TB case counts and rates increased each year since 2020. In total, 9,615 cases were provisionally reported by the 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia during 2023, representing a 16% increase versus 2022. In 2023, the rate also increased compared with 2022 (2.9 versus 2.5 per 100,000 persons). Increases in both case counts and rates were seen in 2023 in 40 states and Washington D.C. Among all age groups and both U.S-born and non-U.S.-born individuals, there were increases observed in national case counts.

"Renewed progress toward TB elimination will require strong public health systems both domestically and globally that are responsive to health disparities, capable of maintaining essential disease prevention and control activities, and prepared to withstand the next pandemic or other large-scale crisis," the authors write.