Kansas Faces Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in U.S. History Amid Public Health Policy Shifts

Kansas is grappling with the largest tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in U.S. history, centered in the Kansas City metro area.

“Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Ashley Goss, deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.

As of January 17th, officials reported 66 active TB cases and 79 latent infections since 2024, primarily in Wyandotte and Johnson counties. Jill Bronaugh, KDHE spokesperson, confirmed the unprecedented scale, noting, “This is mainly due to the rapid number of cases in the short amount of time. This outbreak is still ongoing, which means there could be more cases.”

TB, a bacterial disease often affecting the lungs, spreads through the air when infected individuals cough or speak. Active cases can transmit the disease, but latent cases do not. Treatment involves months of antibiotics. “After 10 days of medications and three sputum tests, they’re no longer contagious,” Goss explained.

KDHE reports 109 active cases in 2024, up from 51 in 2023. Goss emphasized collaboration with the CDC: “We are trending in the right direction right now.”

Efforts include mobilizing resources and working with employers. “We do expect to find more [cases], but we’re hoping they are latent TB, not active,” Goss said. Despite the outbreak’s scale, public health officials assure a “very low risk to the general public.”

This unfortunate outbreak arises as a new administration takes office, with Donald Trump signing a slew of executive orders, many of which target public health. In recent days, he has pushed to have the United States removed from the World Health Organization (WHO) and ordered health organizations such as the CDC to pause public announcements. The tuberculosis outbreak at a time like this is cause for concern.