Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2010

In 2010, the reported number of TB cases decreased slightly from the previous year. In 2010, there were 11,182 reported TB cases (3.6 cases per 100,000 persons) compared to 11,537 reported TB cases from 2009. TB case totals are now at the lowest number recorded since national reporting began in 1953. Yet, even though reported TB cases reached all-time lows in the United States, there are still disproportionately higher rates of TB among racial/ethnic minorities, especially U.S.-born blacks. TB rates are higher for some racial and ethnic groups, probably because a greater proportion of people in these groups have other risk factors for TB.

• Blacks or African-Americans born in the United States represented 40% of TB cases among U.S.-born persons.
• Hispanics accounted for the largest percentage of total cases of TB of any race/ethnicity (29%).
• The TB case rate for Asians (22.4 per 100,000) was approximately three times higher than that for Hispanics (6.5 per 100,000) or Blacks or African-Americans (7.0 per 100,000).

Foreign-born persons accounted for 60% of all cases. To address the high TB case rates among foreign-born persons, CDC is collaborating with other national and international public health organizations to improve screening of immigrants and refugees, test recent arrivals from countries with high rates of TB, and improve TB control activities along the border between the United States and Mexico. Foreign-born cases are declining in number, but not as quickly as among the U.S.-born.

• In 2010, the percentage of cases occurring in foreign-born persons was 60% of the national case total, compared to 31% in 1993.
• Foreign-born Hispanics and Asians together represented 80% of TB cases in foreign-born persons, and accounted for 48% of the national case total.
• From 2006 through 2010, the top five countries of origin of foreign-born persons with TB were Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, India, and China.

To achieve TB elimination, ongoing efforts are needed to address the persistent disparities that exist between U.S.-born and foreign-born persons, and between whites and minorities in the United States.

Data Source

CDC. Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2010. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, October 2011.)

More Information

• CDC Tuberculosis Homepage
• Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2010
• Trends in TB
  
• State Tuberculosis Control Programs
• Global TB
• World Health Organization-Global Tuberculosis Control, 2011