Tuberculosis, a global infectious disease killer, makes a surprise reappearance in California.
A doctor examines the x-rays of a tuberculosis patient at a TB clinic. On Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2024, Santa Clara County released new data showing a 19% jump in cases from 2022 to 2023. Increased cases were also reported in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties. Once known as consumption, the disease that killed Eleanor Roosevelt, Frederic Chopin and all five of the sisters Bronte, tuberculosis is often viewed as a bygone threat.
The rebound does not represent a dangerous outbreak but rather the scattered re-emergence of a hidden health risk that is being detected in the wake of the COVID pandemic, according to health experts. Diagnoses may have been missed, misdiagnosed or delayed, they said. “I realized it existed, of course, but I just never knew of anybody who had it,” said Lyon, whose infection was successfully treated.An ancient foe, the bacterial infection continues to rage, virtually unchecked, throughout the developing world. It’s the second-most deadly infectious disease in the world, following COVID, killing 1.2 million people each year.
The bacteria spreads through the air when infected people cough, sneeze or spit. The infection prospers in crowds, spreading to people in close reach. Nearly a dozen tuberculosis cases — all genetically linked — were traced to California Grand Casino in Pacheco over the past five years, according to Contra Costa Health.Most cases emerge in people who were born or spent extensive time in high-risk countries, primarily the Philippines, Vietnam, China and Central America.
“They went along with their symptoms for awhile until they became progressively more and more ill,” she said. “What we’re seeing now might be the progression of that active disease that was never identified earlier. Now they’re presenting for care at a time when their symptoms are more severe.”Perhaps there is an increase in transmission because fewer people are wearing masks, she added. “People are out in the world more, and mixing.
While drug-resistant TB is a growing global threat, it represents a small percentage of cases in the U.S. and is treatable with existing medicines, said Andrews.
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