Annual Probability of Tuberculosis Diagnosis in the US
~1 in 30,000
Annual probability in US
About 1 in 30,000 Americans is diagnosed with active tuberculosis each year, though the disease remains a major killer globally.
In 2023, approximately 9,600 cases of active tuberculosis (TB) were reported in the United States, a rate of about 2.9 per 100,000 population. While this makes TB relatively rare in the US, it remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing about 1.3 million people globally each year.
TB in the US disproportionately affects foreign-born individuals (who account for about 70% of cases), people experiencing homelessness, those in correctional facilities, and immunocompromised individuals (especially those with HIV). Latent TB infection (where the bacteria are present but not causing symptoms) affects an estimated 13 million Americans.
Treatment for active TB typically requires 6-9 months of multiple antibiotics. Drug-resistant TB is a growing concern globally, though it remains uncommon in the US. The BCG vaccine, widely used in other countries, is not routinely recommended in the US due to the low risk of infection and the vaccine's variable effectiveness.
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