(NewsNation) — Kansas is facing an unprecedented tuberculosis (TB) outbreak, now the largest in the state’s history and the biggest in the United States.
As of Jan. 24, the outbreak has led to 67 active cases and 79 possible infections, with two confirmed deaths, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The department also noted that the cases are concentrated in the Kansas City metro area, with the majority in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties.
“Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on January 21, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
KDHE data shows there were 51 active cases statewide in 2023; that jumped to 109 in 2024. One has been reported so far in 2025.
Public health officials are testing people who may have had close contact with someone with a TB infection and providing free antibiotics to those with active cases.
While the outbreak is significant, officials say the overall risk to the wider community remains low.
What is tuberculosis?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tuberculosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection, that most commonly affects the lungs. However, TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidneys, spine and brain. Not everyone who tests positive for TB will get sick, but if it goes untreated, it can become fatal, the CDC warns.
Symptoms of an active TB infection include a persistent cough lasting more than three weeks, coughing up blood, fever, night sweats and weight loss. It can spread through the air when an infected person coughs, speaks or sings.
TB can be treated with antibiotics, and patients typically become non-infectious once treatment begins.
While there is a vaccine for tuberculosis, the CDC notes that it’s mostly used in countries with a high prevalence of TB and isn’t recommended for use in the U.S. due to low risk of infection.
The number of U.S. tuberculosis cases in 2023 was the highest in a decade, according to a report released by the CDC on March 28, 2024.
NewsNation digital producer Jeff Arnold contributed to this report.
