
Oklahoma Health Officials Monitoring Alarming Tuberculosis Outbreak In Kansas
Nearly 70 people across two counties in Kansas have been affected by an alarming tuberculosis outbreak. Although the outbreak has not been proven to have affected Oklahoma directly, the Oklahoma State Department of Health is monitoring the outbreak in Kansas closely.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has been documenting a yearlong tuberculosis outbreak since January of 2024. As of Jan. 24, 2025, there are currently 67 people being treated for tuberculosis, while another 79 people have latent tuberculosis. For 2024, Kansas had 79 active cases and 213 latent cases in the two counties being most affected - Wyandotte and Johnson, which are near Kansas City.
Kansas falsely claims to have the largest U.S. tuberculosis outbreak since 1950.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking tuberculosis cases since 1950, earlier this week, Kansas health officials falsely stated that the outbreak is "the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history." In an article from the Associated Press, a spokesperson from CDC refuted the claims from Kansas health officials and clarified that the recent outbreak is not the largest since 1950.
From 2015 to 2017, public health officials in Georgia identified more than 170 active tuberculosis cases and 400 latent cases that spread through a Georgia homeless shelter. And in 2021, there was a nationwide outbreak affecting 113 patients due to contaminated tissue used in bone transplants.
Nearly 60 to 70 tuberculosis cases are seen in Oklahoma each year.
Tuberculosis is often documented across the country and within Oklahoma each year. Oklahoma averages between 60 to 70 cases of tuberculosis each year. In 2024, Oklahoma recorded 64 cases of tuberculosis and 1,486 latent cases. So far in 2025, nine case of tuberculosis have been reported in Oklahoma.
A spokesperson from the Oklahoma Health Department told FOX25 that "at this time there is no evidence to suggest that the Kansas TB outbreak has directly affected Oklahoma residents, however, we are continuing to monitor the situation."
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