Stock image of an iron lung.Photo:Getty
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An outbreak of the respiratory diseasetuberculosisin Kansas is the largest in the state — and some are saying it’s the biggest surge in recent U.S. history.
There are a total of 67 active cases oftuberculosis(TB) in the state, according to the Jan. 24 update from theKansas Division of Public Health.The bulk of the cases (60) are in Wyandotte County, home to Kansas City, with 7 cases in neighboring Johnson County.
The agency says there is “very low risk to the general public, including the surrounding counties.” Still, the outbreak is “the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said, according toThe Topeka Capital-Journal.
Stock image of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis.Getty
A spokesperson for the state’s department of health, Jill Bronaugh, told the outlet that the outbreak is “the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history, presently.”
“This is mainly due to the rapid number of cases in the short amount of time. This outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases,” Bronaugh told the outlet. “There are a few other states that currently have large outbreaks that are also ongoing.”
Stock image of a man coughing.Getty
However, “TB is curable,” the Cleveland Clinic says.
Symptoms include a bad cough, chest pain, and coughing up blood; The Cleveland Clinic says what while most people’s immune systems are able to fight the infection, it may remain in their system as a “latent TB infection” — later becoming active if your immune system is weakened.
Last year,Kansas reported109 active cases of TB, and 626 latent cases.
Goss toldThe Topeka Capital-Journalthat they’re working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on a response to the outbreak.
“We still have a couple of fairly large employers that are involved that we’re working with on this," Goss said. “So we do expect to find more, but we’re hoping the more that we find is latent TB not active, so that their lives are not disrupted and having to stay home from work.”
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source: people.com
