Tuberculosis Outbreaks

Tuberculosis Outbreaks 2025

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that tuberculosis outbreaks will continue to pose a global health risk in 2025. The WHO issued an updated Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2025 in November. Between 2023 and 2024, the global rate of people falling ill with TB declined by nearly 2%, while deaths from TB fell by 3%. The WHO states that most people who develop TB reside in the Regions of Southeast Asia, Africa (specifically South Africa), Europe, and the Western Pacific. India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Pakistan together accounted for over 50% of the global TB burden. As of March 2025, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data showed a 13% increase in reported TB cases in 2024 (5,480) compared to 2023, resulting in more than 600 additional diagnoses in 2024 (in London and the Midlands) compared to 2023.

Tuberculosis in Children 2025

The 2025 Tuberculosis Surveillance and Monitoring Report, released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe on March 24, 2025, shows that children under 15 years of age accounted for 4.3% of those with new and relapsed TB in the WHO European Region, representing a 10% surge in pediatric TB for 2023, compared to 2022. The WHO estimates that 200,000 children die from TB annually.

Almost two-thirds of TB cases in children worldwide were either not reported or went undiagnosed and untreated. Of the children who developed TB in 2023, the diagnosis was confirmed in only 36%. Estimates show that about 67 million children with latent TB infection are at risk of developing active TB. In a prospective South African birth cohort study published by The Lancet in November 2024, M tuberculosis transmission was found to be consistently high throughout the first decade of life, leading to approximately 10% of children developing TB disease.

Tuberculosis Outbreaks in the United States

After nearly three decades of consistent decline in TB in the United States, the infection rate began increasing in 2021. In 2024, 10,347 TB cases were provisionally reported by the U.S. CDC. The percentage increase in case counts (8%) and rates (6%) from 2023 to 2024. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia reported increases in TB case counts. The CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published in June 2024, examined the most recent five years of data from the National TB Indicators Project. This data indicated that up to 13 million people in the U.S. (60 jurisdictions) live with latent TB infection. The CDC reports that four U.S. states combined accounted for half of all U.S. TB cases in 2022: California, Texas, New York (including New York City), and Florida.

On January 23, 2024, USAID published its Annual TB Report to Congress, which indicated that global TB case notifications increased by 70% in 2022 compared to 2021.

A study published in September 2024 showed that tuberculosis infection (TBI) disproportionately affects non-US-born persons. Among persons born in countries with high rates, 9.9% had TBI. In an April 2024 analysis of TB incidence rates for racial/ethnic populations, incidence rate ratios were 14.2 times higher among younger American Indian or Alaska Native females. In January 2024, the CDC Tuberculosis Yellow Book 2024 reported that immigrants from countries with a high TB burden and long-term residents of high-burden countries have a 10× greater incidence of TB than the U.S. national average.

Texas reported 1,235 TB cases in 2023, up from 1,100 in 2022. Data from 2023 indicates TB rates are accelerating in certain cities (Dallas, Fort Worth, Hidalgo County, Houston, and San Antonio) in 2024. In 2022, 7,415 Texans were exposed to TB. Public health departments treated over 2,900 people for TB infection in 2022, and 50 Texans died of TB, the second most in any state. Harris County Public Health was recognized by the CDC for its Tuberculosis Elimination Program in 2025. Harris County (Houston) reported the most TB cases (269) in 2022. In 2021, 998 TB patients were reported throughout Texas, representing a 12.5% increase from the previous year. In 2019, Texas's 32 border counties had an average TB incidence nearly triple the national rate. About 69% of people diagnosed with TB in Texas were non-U.S.-born.