Trends in Tuberculosis—United States, 2008

• Published in: JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 301; no. 18; pp. 1869 - 1871
• Main Authors: Pratt, R, Robison, V, Navin, T, Bloss, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago American Medical Association 13-05-2009
• Subjects: Minority & ethnic groups; Racial differences; Tuberculosis; United States > US
• ISSN: 0098-7484; 1538-3598

Incident tuberculosis (TB) trends in the US since 1993 are described. In 2008, a total of 12,898 TB cases were reported in the US; the TB rate declined 3.8% from 2007 to 4.2 cases per 100,000 population, the lowest rate recorded since national reporting began in 1953. Foreign-born persons and racial/ethnic minorities continued to bear a disproportionate burden of TB disease in the US. In 2008, the TB rate in foreign-born persons in the US was 10 times higher than in US-born persons. TB rates among Hispanics and blacks were nearly eight times higher than among non-Hispanic whites, and rates among Asians were nearly 23 times higher than among non-Hispanic whites. In 2008, among persons with TB whose country of origin was known, approximately 95% of Asians, 76% of Hispanics, 32% of blacks, and 18% of whites were foreign born. Among US-born racial and ethnic groups, the greatest racial disparity in TB rates was for US-born blacks, whose rate was seven times higher than the rate for US-born whites. A CDC editorial note is included.