“As tuberculosis cases rise in the US and worldwide, health officials puzzle over the resurgence of a disease once in decline”
By Karen Dobos and Marcela Henao-Tamayo
“About half of all people with untreated active TB die from the disease, whereas treatment reduces the death rate to 12%.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has played a pivotal role in the resurgence of TB. Cases increased globally by 4.6% from 2020 to 2023, reversing decades of steady declines in the disease. In the U.S. alone, TB cases rose by more than 15% from 2022 to 2023.”
to read the full article go to
https://theconversation.com/as-tuberculosis-cases-rise-in-the-us-and-worldwide-health-officials-puzzle-over-the-resurgence-of-a-disease-once-in-decline-249450
“USAid cuts could create untreatable TB bug ‘resistant to everything we have’”
By Kat Lay, Global
“Dangerous new forms of tuberculosis (TB) for which there is no treatment could emerge as a result of US aid cuts, a top doctor has warned.
Dr Lucica Ditiu, who heads the Stop TB Partnership, said she feared that interruptions to people’s treatment would allow the airborne bug to mutate into a new, untreatable form.
Moreover, a lack of diagnostic services, which have also been badly affected by the Trump administration’s aid cuts, would allow TB to spread more easily, she said.
Programmes working to detect, treat and research new ways to fight TB are among nearly 10,000 health projects worldwide that received notices at the end of February that the US was terminating their funding after a review of aid spending.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/10/us-aid-cuts-tuberculosis-tb-untreatable-bug-drug-resistance-stop-tb-partnership-who
“World Health Organization warns of possible tuberculosis surge because of USAID cuts”
By Aria Bendix.
“Globally, tuberculosis is responsible for the most deaths of any infectious disease. Around 1.25 million people died from the bacterial infection in 2023, the latest data available, and new cases hit an all-time high that year, with around 8.2 million people diagnosed, according to the WHO.
Until recently, USAID provided about a quarter of the international donor funding for tuberculosis services in other countries — up to $250 million annually, according to the WHO. The agency operated tuberculosis programs in 24 countries.
The WHO said that because of the U.S. funding cuts, drug supply chains in other countries are “breaking down,” laboratory services are “severely disrupted” and surveillance systems are “collapsing,” making it difficult to identify, monitor and treat tuberculosis cases. Some research trials have been halted, as well.
That has incapacitated some national tuberculosis programs, with the WHO warning of devastating impacts in 18 countries with the highest burden of disease, many of which are in Africa.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tuberculosis-surge-possible-usaid-cuts-trump-who-rcna195190
What the Tuberculosis Outbreak in Kansas Means for Public Health
By Aliza Rosen
“The U.S. has one of the lowest tuberculosis incidence rates in the world. So when there are outbreaks of this bacterial infection, like the one reported last month in Kansas, they get our attention.
While the threat to the general public remains low in the U.S., TB outbreaks may reveal a deeper problem with public health infrastructure: Who is testing for TB? When a case is detected, who is collecting and sharing that information? Who is conducting contact tracing to identify asymptomatic cases and ensuring that infected people are being treated?
Globally, TB kills more people than any other infectious disease, largely because that public health infrastructure is lacking in some of the world’s most populous regions.
In this Q&A, David Dowdy, MD, PhD ’08, ScM ’02, professor in Epidemiology, provides an overview of tuberculosis, including how it spreads, who is most at risk, and what the Kansas outbreak suggests about the state of our public health infrastructure. This article draws from the February 4 episode of Public Health On Call and additional interviews with Dowdy.
to read the full article go to
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/tuberculosis-in-kansas-the-larger-picture
“After Tuberculosis Outbreak, Wyandotte County Parts Ways with Health Director”
By Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga
“According to Griener and hundreds of emails obtained by the Kansas News Service, things started out smoothly between leadership at the CDC, KDHE and the Wyandotte County Public Health Department. Emails were cordial and welcoming.
But that relationship began to sour as disagreements about how to contain the outbreak and treat patients arose.
“Sometimes there’s too many cooks in the kitchen on these kinds of things and different people think they have the right idea,” Greiner said.”
to read the full article go to
https://flatlandkc.org/news-issues/health/after-tuberculosis-outbreak-wyandotte-county-parts-ways-with-health-director/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvr–BhB5EiwAd5YbXobqlcoC3sCZ72C1HkFP6-jMAeu-BWQQR23cMzItO5VFQqoaZ9LONBoCIg0QAvD_BwE
“KU Medical Center experts work to control tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas”
by Kristi Birch
“Corriveau cited social factors as potential facilitators of the outbreak in Kansas. “The area has industries and workplaces where people work in close proximity, as well as multigenerational large households,” she said. “And there are many people living with chronic conditions, which may not even be diagnosed, that make them more vulnerable to infectious diseases, including TB. And a lot of people don’t have access to care.” Access to care enables early detection and treatment that can prevent the disease from spreading.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.kumc.edu/about/news/news-archive/tuberculosis-outbreak-in-kansas.html
“Tuberculosis Resurgent as Trump Funding Cut Disrupts Treatment Globally”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/health/tuberculosis-kenya-us-cuts.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
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“Flu Cases Are Surging”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/well/flu-season-risk.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare