KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Health Department said on Friday that Kansas City, Missouri continues to maintain low tuberculosis case numbers with no signs of an active outbreak.
The health department said since 2015, the annual average number of confirmed cases is 12.7 with no significant increase in 2024.
None of the Kansas City cases from 2024 are linked to the outbreak in Wyandotte County, Kansas, according to the health department.
“The risk of spreading Tuberculosis is low except for those who repeatedly come into close contact with someone coughing,” the health department said in a news release Friday. “Most transmission occurs between family members or people living together.”
The health department said for those concerned about exposure or have come into close repeated contact with someone that has tested positive, the City is offering free testing at the health department at 2400 Troost Avenue. People can call (816) 513-6110 to schedule an appointment.
According to online data, as of Friday, Jan. 24, there were 67 active cases of the disease. The breakdown includes 60 in Wyandotte County and seven in Johnson County, Kansas.
TB is spread through the air from one person to another and is put into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks or sings.
Tuberculosis is not spread by touch, and you cannot get TB by walking past an infectious person.
Symptoms include a prolonged cough, which could include a bloody cough, night sweats and weight loss. These are symptoms that could persist for weeks or months. Cases related to the outbreak were first reported in January 2024.
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