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Tuberculosis Cases Increase In NYC For First Time In Decade
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 20, 2014
Modified Mar 20, 2014
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Puwadol Jaturawutthichai/Shutterstock
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 20, 2014
Modified Mar 20, 2014
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NYC has seen an increase in reported cases of tuberculosis last year for the first time since 1992, according to a recent study conducted by the Department of Health. And though health officials maintain that overall TB cases have decreased significantly since then, they note that the majority of individuals suffering from the illness hail from overseas, and that anyone with diabetes or HIV is more at risk for contracting it.
A DOH report [pdf] released today found that tuberculosis cases rose 1 percent from 2012 to 2013. And while the overall numerical jump—from 651 cases to 656 cases—isn't much, health officials caution that the increase follows a disturbing trend in the slowdown of controlling TB transmission over the past few years.
Of the individuals infected in 2013, 84 percent had arrived here from outside the United States, and 9 percent of the total number also had HIV. "The burden of TB in NYC now disproportionately affects persons from countries with high TB incidence. Many are likely infected in their country of origin and developed TB after entering the US,” Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in a statement. “Certain chronic diseases can put individuals at increased risk for reactivated TB disease. It is important for healthcare providers to “think TB” and test and treat persons who are at risk for TB infection and TB disease.”
NY's tuberculosis rate is more than twice the national rate, with 8 out of 100,000 individuals suffering from the disease. And though TB is easily treated by taking a course of drugs for 6 to 9 months, it was once the leading cause of death in the city, and can be spread by repeated exposure to the breath of an infected individual; over the summer, a maternity ward at St. Luke's-Roosevelt hospital was compromised when a worker tested positive for TB, leaving hundreds of babies at risk of exposure.
In 2013, Queens had the highest number of TB cases, making up 37 percent of all cases in New York. And individuals born in China had the highest rate of infection, with 120 cases total. The Center for Disease Control lists symptoms for TB, which include having a bad cough for over three weeks and exhibiting a fever, on its website; if you think you have come into contact with the disease, your doctor can administer a skin test.
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