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CDC: TB elimination goal not yet reached in US
CDC. MMWR. 2012;61:181-185.
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New data from the CDC’s National Tuberculosis Screening System indicate that the incidence of tuberculosis in the United States was 3.4 cases per 100,000 population in 2011. The report confirms that the goal of tuberculosis elimination in the United States by 2010, set in 1989, has not been reached.
The incidence is 6.4% lower than the rate in 2010 and is the lowest rate recorded since national reporting began in 1953, but not as large as the record decline of 11.4% from 2008 to 2009. The report comes just before World TB Day on Saturday.
Non-Hispanic Asians surpassed Hispanics as the most affected racial/ethnic groups among those with TB in 2011. The rate of TB among non-Hispanic Asians was 25 times greater than that of non-Hispanic whites. The TB rate among non-Hispanic blacks was eight times greater and the TB rate among Hispanics was seven times greater.
“Although TB cases and rates decreased among foreign-born and US-born persons, foreign-born persons and racial/ethnic minorities continue to be affected disproportionately,” the researchers wrote. “The rate of incident TB cases (representing new infection and reactivation of latent infection) among foreign-born persons in the United States was 12 times greater than among US-born persons.”
The rates of TB in states varied, ranging from 0.7 cases per 100,000 population in Maine to 9.3 per 100,000 population in Alaska, with the median being 2.4 per 100,000 population. Thirty-four states had lower TB rates in 2011 than in 2010. Four states — California, Florida, New York and Texas — reported more than 500 cases each in 2011.
“Progress toward TB elimination in the United States will require ongoing surveillance and improved TB control and prevention activities,” they wrote. “Sustained focus on domestic TB control activities and further support of global TB control initiatives is important to address persistent disparities between non-Hispanic whites and racial/ethnic minorities and between US-born and foreign-born persons.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.