Kansas faces largest TB outbreak in history; warning signs and symptoms to know

Kansas is grappling with its largest tuberculosis outbreak in history, with 67 active cases and 79 latent infections reported, primarily in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, according to

Kansas Department of Health and Environment

(KDHE).
However, despite the unprecedented scale, health officials have assured the public that the risk of infection remains low.
“Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” KDHE Deputy Secretary Ashley Goss told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.
The KDHE stated that local health departments are working closely with each TB patient to identify potential close contacts who may have been exposed to the disease. They are also facilitating TB testing without any cost.

Uninsured people as well as those whose health insurance does not cover it, will receive free treatment, said KDHE.
Kansas earlier dealt with a wave of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB that drove up the cases massively. A CDC report in September 2023 said that cases of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB rose from 37–43 annually between 2019 and 2021 to 52 cases in 2022. It was also reported that thirteen people in four low-income households in Kansas contracted the antibiotic resistant disease.

Multidrug-resistant TB

(MDR-TB) is a type of tuberculosis caused by strains resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid. In 2022, around 410,000 people worldwide developed MDR or rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB).

What is Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through the air when people with the condition cough, sneeze or spit. About 5–10% of people infected with TB will eventually get symptoms and develop TB disease. However, those who are infected but free of disease cannot transmit it. TB disease is treatable and preventable. It is usually treated with antibiotics and proves to be fatal without treatment.

Are there different strains of TB?

Yes, there are two different strains of the infection. One is active infection which can cause symptoms like nausea and is contagious. While another is latent infection which is non-contagious and doesn’t cause symptoms.

Can TB spread with infection?

No, TB cannot be spread through kissing, shaking hands, sharing food, drink, or toothbrushes, or sharing bedding or the same toilet in a household.

Symptoms of TB

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), prolonged cough (sometimes with blood), chest pain, weakness, fatigue, weight loss, fever, and night sweats are the common symptoms of tuberculosis.
While TB usually affects lungs, it can also at times involve the kidneys, brain, spine and skin.
Tuberculosis can manifest in various parts of the body, causing different symptoms: firm red or purple swelling under the skin if in the lymph nodes, blood in the urine if in the kidneys, headaches or confusion if it affects the brain (TB meningitis), back pain if in the spine, and hoarseness if in the larynx.
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