Posted on March 28, 2018

NYC Sees Largest Increase in Tuberculosis Cases in 26 Years

Carl Campanile, New York Post, March 26, 2018

The number of tuberculosis cases in New York City suddenly jumped by 10 percent last year — the largest increase since 1992, according to the Health Department.

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There were 613 reported cases in 2017, compared to 556 in 2016.

TB has been on the decline in the city since peaking at 3,811 cases in 1992.

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“The TB rate in NYC is 7.5 per 100,000 persons, more than double the provisional 2017 national rate of 2.8 per 100,000 persons,” said Joseph Burzynski, assistant commissioner and director of the Bureau of TB Control.

Sixty-three percent of TB cases occurred among males.

TB disproportionately affects foreign-born New Yorkers — accounting for 86 percent of all cases in the city.

Many of the infected city residents came from China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India or Mexico.

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