Tuberculosis Surge in Kansas: ‘Largest Outbreak’ ArticlePure

An outbreak of the respiratory disease tuberculosis in Kansas is the largest in the state — and some are saying it’s the biggest surge in recent U.S. history.

There are a total of 67 active cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the state, according to the Jan. 24 update from the Kansas Division of Public Health. The bulk of the cases (60) are in Wyandotte County, home to Kansas City, with 7 cases in neighboring Johnson County.

The agency says there is “very low risk to the general public, including the surrounding counties.” Still, the outbreak is “the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal. 

A spokesperson for the state’s department of health, Jill Bronaugh, told the outlet that the outbreak is “the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history, presently.” 

“This is mainly due to the rapid number of cases in the short amount of time. This outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases,” Bronaugh told the outlet. “There are a few other states that currently have large outbreaks that are also ongoing.”

Tuberculosis, as PBS notes, was called consumption when it killed one in seven people in the 1800s. The iron lung — a full-body ventilator famously used to aid polio patients — was used as early treatment of TB. These days, the disease, which is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is treated with specific antibiotics — sometimes for as long as nine months, the Cleveland Clinic says. TB can be fatal if not treated. 

However, “TB is curable,” the Cleveland Clinic says.

Symptoms include a bad cough, chest pain, and coughing up blood; The Cleveland Clinic says what while most people’s immune systems are able to fight the infection, it may remain in their system as a “latent TB infection” — later becoming active if your immune system is weakened.

Last year, Kansas reported 109 active cases of TB, and 626 latent cases.

Goss told The Topeka Capital-Journal that they’re working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on a response to the outbreak.

“We still have a couple of fairly large employers that are involved that we’re working with on this,” Goss said. “So we do expect to find more, but we’re hoping the more that we find is latent TB not active, so that their lives are not disrupted and having to stay home from work.”

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