CDC data show TB case counts increased in US since COVID-19 pandemic
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Key takeaways:
- Overall, 9,615 TB cases were reported in 2023, a 16% increase from 2022 and an 8% increase from 2019.
- The year 2023 saw the highest number of cases in the U.S. since 2013.
Although the United States has one of the lowest tuberculosis incidence rates in the world, TB cases increased in the U.S. in 2023 among nearly all demographics, data from an MMWR report showed.
“Despite being both preventable and curable, TB remains one of the world’s leading infectious disease killers,” Paula M. Williams, DrPH, a member of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, and colleagues wrote.
“The United States has one of the lowest TB rates globally and has a goal of eliminating TB by 2035, she said.”
Between 1995 and 2014, health departments and CDC TB control efforts prevented as many as 300,000 people from developing TB disease, the authors wrote, and averted up to $14.5 billion in costs.
Williams and colleagues wrote that after 27 years of declining U.S. TB cases, the number of TB cases declined considerably in 2020 to 7,171, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, TB case counts and rates increased in 2021 and 2022.
To provide provisional TB surveillance data for 2023 in the U.S., Williams and colleagues obtained national case counts, along with counts by jurisdiction, birth origin, race and ethnicity and age group from CDC’s National Tuberculosis Surveillance System. Then they calculated percentage changes in TB case counts and rates for 2023 compared with 2022.
Overall, 9,615 TB cases were reported in 2023, an increase of 1,295 cases (16%) compared with the 8,320 cases reported in 2022, which was an 8% increase compared with the 2019 pre-pandemic case count (8,895). The authors noted that this was also the highest number of cases reported since 2013 (9,556).
Additional data showed that in 2023, among 9,573 TB cases in people for whom birth origin was known, 7,259 (76%) occurred among non-U.S.-born people, which was an 18% increase compared with the 6,177 cases reported in 2022. The number of cases in U.S.-born people in 2023 also increased from 2,131 in 2022 to 2,314 (9%).
Among U.S.-born people with TB, 33% identified as Black or African American, 27% as Hispanic, 26% as white, 6% as Asian, 5% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 3% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and 1% as multiple race.
The rate of TB in 2023 compared with 2022 increased 20% among Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 12% among Black, 11% among Hispanic, and 4% among white people, whereas the rate declined 9% among American Indian or Alaska Native, and 12% among Asian people, according to the study.
Among non-U.S.-born people with TB, 40% identified as Hispanic, 39% as Asian, 13% as Black, 4% as white, 2% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 1% as multiple race and 0.1% as American Indian or Alaska Native.
The TB rate among non-U.S.-born people increased 29% among Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander in 2023, 28% among Black, 23% among Hispanic and 10% among white people, whereas the rate declined 2% among non-U.S.-born Asian people.
After assessing the data by age group, the researchers found that the TB incidence increased in every age group in 2023, with the largest increase seen among children aged 5 to 14 years — a 42% increase in cases and a 45% increase in rate.
“Continued progress toward TB elimination will require strong public health systems that are capable of maintaining essential disease prevention and control activities and prepared to withstand the next pandemic or other large-scale crisis,” the authors concluded.
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