Authorities in a California declared a health emergency last week due to an outbreak of tuberculosis in Long Beach after it left at least one dead and more than a dozen infected.
As of April 29, there were 14 cases. In addition to the single death, nine have been hospitalized at some point and about 170 people have been identified as likely to have been exposed.
“The outbreak is currently isolated to a distinct population and the risk to the general public is low,” the department said in a statement. “The population at risk in this outbreak has significant barriers to care including homelessness and housing insecurity, mental illness, substance use and serious medical comorbidities.”
The statement added that people connected to a “single room occupancy hotel” were likely exposed, adding that “the name of the hotel will not be released.”
“The facility is a private hotel not operated by or contracted with the City of Long Beach,” city officials continued to say. “People who were staying at the hotel at the time or could have otherwise been exposed have been or will be contacted by the Health Department.”
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that usually attack the lungs, and it is spread through the air when an infectious person coughs or sneezes. The number of U.S. tuberculosis cases in 2023 was the highest in a decade, according to a report last month by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In California, there were 2,113 new cases in 2023, an increase of 15 percent over 2022, according to the state Department of Public Health in an update earlier this year.
They were advised to test and treat for a latent infection “among patients at risk for TB to prevent progression to active TB disease,” the agency added at the time. Meanwhile, local officials and providers should report suspected and confirmed cases to their local health departments.
Those at major risk for tuberculosis include those who lived outside of the country where tuberculosis rates are relatively high such as many nations in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe, according to the state health department. They also include people with compromised immune systems, being in close contact with a person with active tuberculosis, were or are homeless, or people who have lived in a setting such as a prison or a jail.
What to Look For
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that, without treatment, can easily lead to death. Some historians have estimated that it may be the most deadly disease in human history, surpassing even the bubonic plague or smallpox.The usual symptoms of active tuberculosis are a chronic cough for three weeks or longer that can have blood-containing phlegm, fever, chills, malaise, night sweats, appetite loss, fatigue, swellings that don’t go away, and weight loss. Tuberculosis can also spread outside the lungs to other parts of the body, which may present different symptoms, according to health officials.
People with latent tuberculosis cases don’t show any symptoms, officials say. Latent tuberculosis can progress to become active after months or years but cannot spread the bacterial infection to others.
If tuberculosis spreads outside the lungs, other symptoms can be present depending on whether the bacteria is located in the body, according to the clinic’s website. Common symptoms include fever, night sweats, weight loss, chills, tiredness, pain near the infection site, and not feeling well in general.
Common areas where tuberculosis can spread other than the lungs include the kidneys, liver, the fluid around the spinal cord and brain, heart muscles, lymph nodes, bones and joints, voice box, the skin, and walls of blood vessels, officials say.
