To date, 147 people have been reportedly diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in the outbreak, which started in January of 2024. Sixty-seven people have become ill while the remaining 80 people diagnosed with TB in Kansas contracted the illness but showed no symptoms, which is called a latent infection.

The outbreak is ongoing in Kansas City, Kansas, and two nearby counties as of early March 2025.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the organism that causes the disease tuberculosis in humans. The disease has been infecting humans for thousands of years.

Researchers found evidence of the disease 9,000 years ago in the excavated remains of people who lived in the Eastern Mediterranean region during that time. –Science Alert

Tuberculosis is spread by small infectious droplets in the air. A TB patient may emit these droplets by coughing, singing and potentially from regular breathing that occurs during sleep or resting.

The TB outbreak has also brought up the “concern” of unpasteurized dairy products, as with the avian influenza. One form of TB can be spread through unpasteurized dairy products. While rare, there have been reports of TB transmission through bone grafts, in which healthy, donated bone material is used to replace damaged bones.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, common symptoms of active tuberculosis disease include cough, chest pain, and coughing up blood. TB is categorized by active or inactive.

Inactive TB means that the bacteria are living in the body without symptoms or illness.  This is also often called a latent TB infection. When TB germs are multiplying in the body, this is called active TB disease. People with active TB disease feel sick and exhibit symptoms. They may also be able to spread the germs to others. Active TB can be fatal without treatment.

Treatment includes medication with antibiotics that will kill the bacteria that cause it.These drugs will need to be taken for 6 to 9 months.