Tuberculosis cases have increased for the second year in a row, according to a March 2023 report from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While incidence of tuberculosis within the U.S. declined substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of the disease are now returning to pre-pandemic levels.
“During 2022, reported TB incidence increased slightly,” the CDC reported. “Among non–U.S.-born persons with TB, the proportion who had recently arrived in the United States increased. Higher TB incidence among American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander persons compared with other race and ethnicity groups represents an ongoing health disparity.”
From 1993 to 2019, incidence of tuberculosis reports gradually declined nationwide. Incidence of the disease substantially declined in 2020, however, reaching just 2.2 cases per 100,000 persons.
