Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis Menu Workers' Rights

Background

Some workers are at risk for exposure to TB bacteria, including healthcare workers, correctional and detention facility workers, homeless service center workers, workers who travel internationally, workers who live or work in shared housing, workers who interact with people from countries with high rates of TB, and workers that work around or handle elephants. Workers with LTBI, older workers, and those with weakened immune systems (e.g., due to HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, diabetes, or use of certain medications) are at a higher risk of developing TB disease. Additionally, silica-exposed workers with latent TB are at higher risk of developing active TB infection.

TB in the United States:

Tuberculosis is not common in the United States, and both the number of infections and the rate of TB cases have steadily declined in the U.S. since 1992. While tuberculosis infections decreased in the United States by an average of 2% - 3% annually since 2010, beginning in 2020 there was an increase in new cases worldwide.

  • In 2023, approximately 9,633 cases of TB were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), representing a 15% increase in cases when compared with 2022.
  • In 2023, the incidence rate, or number of reported cases per population, was 18 times higher for people born outside the United States.
  • Four states, California, Texas, New York, and Florida, account for more than half (50.6%) of all TB cases reported in the U.S.
  • In 2023, California reported the highest number of TB infections; Alaska reported the highest rate of infections per population.
TB outside of the United States:
  • TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment efforts have saved an estimated 79 million lives since the year 2000.
  • In 2023, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, thirty countries accounted for 87% of new TB cases worldwide, but TB is present in all countries. Together, India (27%), Indonesia (10%), and China (7.1%), and Philippines (7%) accounted for over half the world's TB cases.