In response to new data on rising tuberculosis rates in the United States, QIAGEN urged healthcare providers and public health to assess patient risk for TB, test high-risk individuals, and treat TB infections to reverse rising TB rates.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released provisional data showing that U.S. TB case rates and incidence rates grew for the 4th consecutive year in 2024 to a 15-year high.
According to the 2024 provisional data, 16 states had growth rates that exceeded 20 percent, led by Kansas with cases rates up 150% over 2023. Already in 2025, Kansas is managing at least 67 cases of active TB disease and has diagnosed 79 cases of TB infection – which can be treated before becoming contagious to break the cycle of infection.
State TB case rates also grew over 20 percent in: Alaska (22%), Arkansas (45%), Connecticut (34%), Idaho (47%), Kentucky (23%), Maine (50%), Minnesota (22%), Nebraska (21%), New York (22%), North Dakota (22%), Tennessee (41%), Utah (50%), Vermont (33%), Wisconsin (30%), and Wyoming (100%).
Public health officials recommend testing for people who recently have been exposed to active TB disease, people with weak or suppressed immune systems including those in treatment for HIV, cancer, Crohn’s, or transplants, and elderly individuals with underlying chronic health conditions. Long a scourge of poverty and poor living conditions, TB also threatens the homeless, prisoners, intravenous drug users, and those in close, large group living or working conditions. Non-US born people from high-burden areas including countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America carry a higher risk of infection.
