Georgia part of a national uptick in tuberculosis cases

Caption

A health care provider showing a chest X-ray.

Credit: Courtesy of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention

Globally, tuberculosis, or TB, causes more deaths than any other single infectious disease—it was topped by COVID-19 for the first three years of the pandemic. 

We’ve seen a nationwide increase in cases since then, including in Georgia. Outbreaks of TB infections have been credited to international travel and migration, as well as challenges in disease management coming out of an international focus on COVID-19. 

What are we seeing in Georgia?

Statewide there were 254 new TB cases last year, according to an annual surveillance report from the Georgia Department of Public Health. That marks a 3% increase, or an additional eight cases, from those counted in 2023. 

Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties made up over half of cases—with DeKalb leading. 

Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests 172 TB cases have been reported to the agency from Georgia so far this year. That number is subject to change. 

This year, the DeKalb County Public Health Department has managed an average of 50 active TB cases a month under its Tuberculosis Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program from May through July, according to data presented at a recent board meeting. 

About 80 chest x-rays, over 100 skin tests and even more blood tests were administered by DeKalb County public health in that same time frame. 

The county invested in a new clinic to treat TB patients that’s open now, at the Richardson Health Center in Decatur. There, physicians test for and treat active cases, and try to prevent new ones through contact tracing. That’s critical, because TB is extremely contagious. DeKalb Public Health has investigated over a dozen workplaces this year as part of investigations into active cases. 

Doctors at the clinic in Decatur also care for people with latent TB, a condition where tuberculosis bacteria are still present in the body but not causing an active infection. People with latent TB are not contagious. 

The Fulton County Department of Public Health also has a TB clinic and offers testing at three additional locations. Gwinnett County’s Preventative Health and TB clinic is in Lawrenceville.

Anyone can get TB, and there’s no vaccine. A consistent treatment schedule is key to keep infections from becoming chronic or fatal.