The outbreak started last January. Kansas health officials say numbers are trending downward, but they still expect to find more cases.
A tuberculosis outbreak that started in Wyandotte County, Kansas, has grown to be the largest in the U.S. since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started tracking the illness in the 1950s, health officials said.
In a state Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare meeting, Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told committee members the outbreak is unprecedented.
She said although numbers are trending downward since the outbreak developed last year, the health department is working with two large employers to monitor for more cases.
“We do expect to find more, but we’re hoping the ‘more’ that we find is latent TB and not active, so that their lives are not disrupted,” Goss said.
Jill Bronaugh, the state health department’s communications director, confirmed this is the largest tuberculosis outbreak documented in the U.S. since the ’50s.
“This outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases,” Bronaugh told the Kansas News Service in an email.
She said people can access updated case counts and general information on tuberculosis on the KDHE website.
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is a respiratory disease that is not typically widespread in the U.S. However, case numbers have been on the rise since 2023. Globally, tuberculosis killed 1.25 million people in 2023, according to the World Health Organization.
A person who is symptomatic and tests positive for tuberculosis has what is called an active case. It spreads through close, repeated contact. A person who tests positive for tuberculosis but is not symptomatic has been exposed to the bacteria causing the disease but isn’t contagious.
Latent tuberculosis can become active, so it is important for a person to seek treatment for both latent and active cases. Goss told lawmakers it takes months to fully cure tuberculosis.
“It is highly contagious. … Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Goss said.
Bronaugh said tuberculosis typically impacts a person’s lungs.
“It spreads through the air when infected people cough, speak, or sing. While there is a very low risk of infection to the general public in these communities, KDHE is working to ensure that patients are receiving appropriate treatment, which will limit the ability to spread this disease and prevent additional cases from occurring,” Bronaugh said in a statement.
Where is the outbreak in Kansas?
The Kansas health department recorded 109 active cases of tuberculosis statewide in 2024. In 2023, the CDC recorded 46 active cases in Kansas, Bronaugh said.
Bronaugh said the state recorded 79 active and 213 latent outbreak- and non-outbreak-related tuberculosis cases in Wyandotte and Johnson counties last year. She said those numbers may be subject to change.
“Those 2024 case counts are still provisional, as they will be reviewed and confirmed officially by the CDC near the end of March 2025,” Bronaugh said.
Bronaugh said as of Jan. 24, 67 people (60 in Wyandotte County and seven in Johnson County) are being treated for active tuberculosis. She said cases associated with this outbreak were first reported in January 2024. Bronaugh said there were two deaths connected to the outbreak last year.
What are tuberculosis symptoms?
According to the CDC, symptoms of active tuberculosis include a bad, consistent cough, coughing up phlegm with blood in it, fever, chills and weight loss. People who are immunocompromised, have conditions like AIDS, HIV or diabetes, or who drink alcohol or smoke are at a higher risk of developing tuberculosis.
The CDC recommends people get tested if they have been exposed to tuberculosis, have symptoms or are at high risk. If a person knows they’ve been exposed to another person with tuberculosis but does not have symptoms, it’s still important to get tested, as latent tuberculosis is not symptomatic.
How is the outbreak being contained?
The Wyandotte County outbreak started last year. By summer, the CDC and state health department stepped in to help contain it.
Goss told lawmakers CDC officials are still present and collaborating with state health workers to help end the outbreak.
“That’s not a negative. This is normal when there’s something unprecedented or a large outbreak of any kind,” she told lawmakers.
Bronaugh said the Kansas health department is working with and following the guidance of the CDC.
Kansas News Service ksnewsservice.org.
