THE HILL – Tuberculosis rates in the U.S. rose by 16 percent in 2023, marking the third year that cases went up following nearly 30 years of decline.
In the most recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of TB cases in 2023 totaled at 9,615, a jump of 1,295 over 2022.
The last time annual TB cases in the U.S. were higher than 9,500 was in 2012, when 9,906 were detected. As the report noted, TB cases had declined for 27 years, reaching a record low of 7,171 in 2020 before creeping back up.
TB is a bacterial infection that can attack any organ in the body, though it usually strikes the lungs. Some people don’t develop symptoms after infection, having what is referred to as latent TB.
“Forty states and DC reported increases in 2023 in both case counts and rates. National case counts increased among all age groups and among both U.S.-born and non-U.S.–born persons,” the report read.
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California reported the highest total number of cases at 2,113 … READ MORE.
Betsy McCaughey, THE NEW YORK POST, April 18, 2023
New York City’s health commissioner announced last week that the influx of migrants from the southern border — more than 50,000 to New York City alone in the past year — is delivering contagious diseases, including tuberculosis and polio, to our neighborhoods.
The same disease threats are also endangering other migrant destinations, including California, Texas and Florida.
New York City’s TB rate, at 6.1 cases per 100,000, is more than double the national rate.
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Close to nine out of 10 (88%) of these TB cases are people born outside the United States … READ MORE.