The United States reported 10,300 tuberculosis (TB) infections in 2024, an 8% uptick over 2023, and the highest number of cases since 2011. TB cases have trended upward in the US since 2021 after declining for nearly 30 years. Multiple factors may be contributing to this resurgence. The rise in cases globally coupled with the increase of international travel and migration have played a major part in the disease’s resurgence in the US. In addition, the healthcare disruptions during COVID-19 shutdowns prevented many people from accessing a timely diagnosis of TB or filling prescriptions to treat the disease. COVID-19-related barriers to care.
Worldwide, these COVID-related disruptions caused close to 700,000 additional deaths from TB. Another factor may be the increase in illnesses which compromise the immune system (such as COVID-19), enabling latent – or essentially dormant – TB infections to emerge.
