Health Department Reports Historic Low in New York City Tuberculosis Cases
TB incidence decreased 10 percent from 2013 to 2014
In advance of World TB Day on March 24th, the Health Department released
data showing the number of TB cases in NYC reached a new, historic low
of 585 cases in 2014, and TB incidence decreased 10 percent to a rate
of 7.2 cases per 100,000 people. TB continues to disproportionately affect
foreign-born New Yorkers, with 85 percent of total TB cases among individuals
born outside the United States. China was the most common country of birth
for TB cases in 2014, exceeding the number of cases born in the United
States. The Health Department also
released a new report
exploring this disparate burden of TB among China-born New Yorkers.
“The 10 percent decline in the number of TB cases from a year ago is promising, but more can be done to reduce the number of cases in New York City,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “Though TB is treatable and curable, the disease disproportionally impacts certain populations in New York City. To address this, we are collaborating with community-based organizations, elected officials, and other agencies to improve TB prevention and control in the areas with the highest rates. We also encourage healthcare providers to test and treat people who are at risk, and New Yorkers who may be at an increased risk are advised to speak with a medical provider.”
The Health Department is one of the leading health care providers of TB services in NYC. Health care practitioners at the four chest centers around the city perform an array of medical/clinical services, and the Health Department also offers expert medical consultation for patients being treated by other providers. In 2014, the Health Department expanded the use of video conferencing technology to monitor treatment of TB patients, allowing for a more efficient and less intrusive process for observing patients while they ingest their medication. Treatment for TB can be long, generally requiring ingestion of four antibiotics for six to nine months and ideally while supervised by a community health worker. The Health Department is also offering a new, once-weekly, regimen for TB infection, which patients can complete in 12 weeks instead of the previous nine months daily regimen. Patients should discuss their eligibility for the once-weekly regimen with their physician or medical provider.
Although there have been great strides in reducing TB, New York City has the highest number of TB cases of any city in the nation and more than twice the 2014 national rate of 3.0 per 100,000. According to the 2014 data, Queens continued to have the highest burden of TB in 2014 with 36 percent of the city’s cases, at a rate of 9.2 per 100,000. The neighborhood with the highest rate of TB is Sunset Park in Brooklyn, with a rate of 23.1 per 100,000, which is more than three times the citywide rate. The Health Department continues to work with healthcare providers and communities to promote TB screening as well as to introduce new technology for more efficient and effective treatment regimens.
Every year on World TB Day the Health Department releases the 2014 Annual Summary report .About Tuberculosis:
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a serious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. With proper care and treatment, TB can be prevented and cured. There is a difference between TB infection and active TB disease. TB infection means that TB bacteria are living in the body but not causing any symptoms. People with TB infection do not feel sick and cannot spread the disease. Symptoms of TB disease may include weight loss, a persistent cough lasting longer than three weeks, chest pain, coughing up blood or phlegm, loss of appetite, chills, fever or night sweats. TB disease is spread from person to person through the air, and usually affects the lungs.
When a person who is sick with TB coughs, sneezes, or sings, they put TB germs in the air. Other people may breathe in the TB germs, and some may become sick. People usually get TB germs in their bodies only when they spend a long time around someone who is sick with TB — for example, if they live or work with someone with TB. Brief contact with people who are sick with TB (such as on trains or buses) is unlikely to give a person TB. TB is not spread by shaking hands, sharing food or through sexual activity. Most people do not know they have TB until they become sick. That is why it is a good idea for people at high risk for TB to get tested.
Some people who are at higher risk for getting TB and should be assessed for TB include:
People who have spent a long time around people with active TB
- Family members, friends and co-workers of people with active TB
- People who have recently arrived in the U.S. from countries with high rates of TB
- People who have worked or stayed in hospitals, jails/prisons, homeless shelters or nursing homes
People with certain medical conditions
- People with weak immune systems, especially those with HIV infection, or very young children
- People with diabetes, chronic kidney failure, some cancers or other medical conditions
- People who are injection drug users
- People who have received an organ transplant
- People who take certain medicines that suppress the immune system, such as chemotherapy for cancer, steroids, or TNF-alpha blockers
- People who have a chest X-ray with evidence of old TB disease
For more information, call 311 or search “TB” at www.nyc.gov.
across the city, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay..For more information, call 311 or search “TB” at www.nyc.gov.