According to officials, the state of Kansas has seen an unparalleled surge in TB infections, with almost 70 cases reported.
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, by of Friday, there have been 79 latent infections and 67 active outbreak cases in Kansas City, Kansas, since 2024.
Just west and southwest of the metro area, in Wyandotte County and Johnson County, the majority of cases were reported to have started.
Ashley Goss, the deputy secretary for KDHE, stated to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday that Kansas is currently experiencing the biggest outbreak in its history.
Officials, however, said that the epidemic posed relatively little risk to the public and neighboring counties.
According to a CDC study released in September 2023, a multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB outbreak has increased dramatically from 2019–2021, when the number of cases reported was between 37 and 43, to 52 in 2022.
In Kansas, it was reported that 13 individuals from four low-income households had contracted the antibiotic-resistant sickness.
A bacterium that usually affects the lungs but can sometimes affect other sections of the body causes tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease. When an infected person coughs, talks, or sings, it spreads across the vicinity.
There are two strains of the virus: a latent infection, which is the opposite of an active infection and is not communicable, and an active infection that can induce nausea.
Kissing, handshakes, sharing food, drink, or toothbrushes, as well as sharing bedding or a household toilet, are all ways for people to contract the disease.
If someone contracts tuberculosis, they can be treated with medications, and soon after they begin therapy, they will no longer be contagious.
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What signs and symptoms indicate tuberculosis?
The following are some signs of an active TB case in the lungs, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- A severe cough that lasts for at least three weeks
- Discomfort in the chest
- Spitting up phlegm or blood from deep within the lungs
The following are additional signs of active tuberculosis:
- Weakness or exhaustion
- Reduced weight
- Absence of appetite
- The chills
- The fever
- At night, sweating
Depending on the affected area, various body parts may exhibit symptoms of active tuberculosis disease:
- Under the skin, it could result in a firm red or purple swelling if it’s in the lymph nodes.
- Blood in the urine could be a sign of renal disease.
- TB meningitis in the brain might result in disorientation or headaches.
- Back pain, maybe due to the spine
- cause hoarseness in the larynx
In order to find potential close contacts who might have also contracted TB, KDHE stated that local health departments were collaborating with each TB patient.
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TB testing is being done for free.
Patients who test positive will undergo additional testing to ascertain whether their illness is latent or active.
KDHE stated that free treatment would be provided to those without insurance and to those whose health insurance does not cover it.
The government stated that medical personnel will keep an eye on patients to “help them stay on course.”
