New Outbreak Prompts Questions
In August 2025, new tuberculosis cases have been detected in Northern California and Washington, prompting concern for those infected and about its possible further spread in those communities. But should you be concerned?
Previously in January 2025, an ongoing tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Kansas became one of the largest outbreaks in U.S. history, dating back to 1953 when the CDC began counting TB cases. Public health officials with the Kansas Department of Health reported that they had documented 66 active cases and 79 latent infections in the Kansas City, Kansas, metro area since the beginning of 2024.
What is TB?
TB is a disease caused by a bacterium primarily transmitted by aerosol or droplet, and can be transmitted when a person with an active infection coughs, sneezes, laughs, or even talks. The disease exists in two forms: an active form capable of being transmitted to others, and a latent form in which the patient is asymptomatic and cannot spread the disease. Between the two forms, it is estimated that nearly a quarter of the world’s population – that’s approximately 2 billion people – may be infected with TB. Following infection, TB bacteria most often attack the lungs, but they can also attack the kidney, spine, and brain. Symptoms can include cough, fever, fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss. Several health conditions put an individual at higher risk of contracting TB, including malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, and diabetes. Though the outbreak in Kansas is an exception, these factors result in infections most often occurring in low- to middle-income countries with limited resources for an effective response.
Should I Be Concerned?
While respiratory diseases can potentially infect anyone, it’s important to keep a few facts in mind. For instance, TB is typically transmitted by prolonged contact with symptomatic patients, often in close quarters. It cannot be spread through shaking hands, sharing food or drink, or kissing. It’s also important to recognize that TB, being a bacterial disease, can be treated with antibiotics, though the course is lengthy and taking the right antibiotics at the right time can sometimes be challenging. Though TB was treatable with one or two antibiotics until several decades ago, resistance to these antibiotics (also called antimicrobial resistance or AMR) has risen quickly as a result of antibiotic use and overuse. By including multiple antibiotics in TB treatment, doctors can reduce the overall treatment time, increase effectiveness, and reduce the chance of relapse. In the case of the Kansas City, Kansas outbreak, health experts have attributed the outbreak to a strain of TB that shows resistance to the typical first-line antibiotics used to treat TB. This is known as multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). Read more about bacteria and the overuse of antibiotics at “The Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance.”
