World TB Day 2020

March 19, 2020 – New CDC data highlight the need to strengthen U.S. TB control efforts.

Ahead of World TB Day, new provisional data present the lowest number of TB cases on record and highlights the need to strengthen U.S. TB control efforts. TB cases in the U.S. declined about one percent from 9,021 cases in 2018 to 8,920 cases in 2019. This marks the fourth consecutive year of decreases. However, the current TB rate (2.7 per 100,000 persons) remains 27 times higher than the TB elimination goal of one case per million persons.

TB is still a life-threatening problem in this country. TB knows no borders, and people here in the United States are suffering from TB. Anyone can get TB. View TB Personal Stories for insights into the experiences of several people who were diagnosed and treated for TB disease, as well as the work of TB control professionals.

*Updated data will be available in CDC’s annual TB surveillance report later this year.

Resources:

Media Summary: Tuberculosis – United States, 2019
MMWR: Tuberculosis – United States, 2019
Additional World TB Day Resources
Fact Sheet: TB in the United States, 2019pdf icon
Infographic: The Costly Burden of Drug-Resistant TB in the U.S.pdf icon

Graphics:

World TB Day Graphics

These high-resolution, public domain images are ready to download and print in your publication. Click on a graphic to see it in high-resolution. For your convenience, we have included a table that contains the specific data from the report used to generate these charts. These images are in the public domain and are thus free of any copyright restrictions. As a matter of courtesy, we ask that the content provider be credited and notified of any public or private usage of an image.

The Path to TB Elimination Is Clear

This graph shows data on TB in the U.S from 1993 to 2019. The total number of reported TB cases is displayed in bars, and the TB rate per 100,000 people is displayed as a line. The graph shows that while decreases in TB cases and TB rates have continued since 1993, the decrease has slowed in recent years. TB case counts in the U.S. ranged from a high point of 25,102 in 1993 to a low of 8,920 in 2019. The U.S. TB rate ranged from a high point of 9.7 in 1993 to a low of 2.7 in 2019. The data for 2019 are provisional. On a right-hand panel there is a close-up of TB data from 2014 to 2019, which shows a plateau in the decline of both cases and rates during this time period. Beneath the data is text that reads: It’s time to eliminate tuberculosis in the U.S.

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New provisional 2019 TB surveillance data present the lowest number of cases on record and also demonstrates the slowed progress toward TB elimination.

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TB Rates in the U.S., 1993 – 2019 (Provisional)

This bar graph shows the reported TB rate in the U.S. from 1993 to 2019. Above the chart is text that reads: The path to TB elimination is clear, but progress has slowed in recent years. The U.S. TB rate is displayed as cases per 100,000 people. The graph shows that while decreases in the U.S. TB rate has continued since 1993, the decrease has slowed in recent years. The U.S. TB rate ranged from a high point of 9.7 in 1993 to a low of 2.7 in 2019. The data for 2019 are provisional. On a right-hand panel there is an image of lungs. Beneath the lungs is text that reads: It’s time to eliminate tuberculosis in the U.S.

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While decreases in the U.S. TB rate has continued since 1993, the decrease has slowed in recent years. Preliminary 2019 data show that the current TB rate (2.7 cases per 100,000 persons) remains at levels 27 times higher than the TB elimination target rate.

TB Cases in the U.S., 1993 – 2019 (Provisional)

This bar graph shows the number of reported TB cases in the U.S. from 1993 to 2019. Above the chart is text that reads: The path to TB elimination is clear, but progress has slowed in recent years. The graph shows that while decreases in U.S. TB cases has continued since 1993, the decrease has slowed in recent years. TB case counts in the U.S. ranged from a high point of 25,102 in 1993 to a low of 8,920 in 2019. The data for 2019 are provisional. On a right-hand panel there is an image of lungs. Beneath the lungs is text that reads: It’s time to eliminate tuberculosis in the U.S.

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TB case counts in the U.S. ranged from a high point of 25,101 in 1993 to a low of 8,920 in 2019 – the lowest ever reported in Unites States. However, progress has slowed in recent years.

Related CDC Sites

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TB data made interactive

Page last reviewed: March 19, 2020

Content source: National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention