Tuberculosis Outbreak in Kansas: What We Know So Far

A CDC spokesperson says the agency is responding but noted that it’s not the largest outbreak in U.S. history, as has been claimed.

A sample that tested positive for tuberculosis is seen from a microscope in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 29, 2019. Magali Druscovich/Reuters

A yearlong outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in the Kansas City, Kansas, area has left at least two people dead and sparking claims that it is the worst such episode in U.S. history.

Some Kansas health officials called the outbreak “the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history” since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began counting TB cases in the 1950s. However, the CDC has disputed that claim.