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TB Management

TB Risk Groups

Who is at risk for TB?

It is estimated that up to 10% of people infected with M. tuberculosis will develop active tuberculosis (TB) in their lifetime. About one-quarter of the world’s population has a TB infection. The vast majority have no signs or symptoms of TB disease and are not infectious, although they are at risk of developing active TB disease and becoming infectious.

Who is at risk for TB - infographic

The CDC is calling out a testing gap. Can we defuse the TB timebomb?

According to a new study published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reported TB incidence (cases per 100,000 persons) increased 9.4%, from 2.2 during 2020 to 2.4 during 2021 but was lower than incidence during 2019 (2.7) (2).

Factors contributing to changes in reported TB during 2020–2021 likely include an actual reduction in TB incidence, delayed or missed TB diagnoses and disruptions in healthcare access (3).

The authors warn that continuing underdiagnosis of TB in the U.S. may derail efforts to eliminate the disease, highlighting the importance of evaluation and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to prevent progression to TB disease.

How can we get U.S. testing back on track?

We must continue to ensure correct and timely diagnoses and focus on essential TB prevention and control activities (4). Our fight against TB starts with accurate LTBI testing and treatment – to make sure that populations at higher risk of TB infection are protected and LTBI progression to TB disease is avoided.
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Finding ways to integrate TB and COVID-19 care programs

Dr. Alistair Story, from London’s Find&Treat mobile health service discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the service and how the lessons learned through years of running the service has helped it to manage the additional burden of COVID-19.

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References:
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Testing for Tuberculosis (TB) factsheet. https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/testing/tb_testing.htm (accessed October 6, 2021)
  2. Filardo T.D., Feng P., Pratt R.H., Price S.F., Self J.L. (2021) Tuberculosis — United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;7 1:441, 446.
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in Tuberculosis, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/statistics/tbtrends.htm (accessed April 7, 2022)
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC FACT SHEET: TB in the United States, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/TB-in-the-US-508.pdf 

QFT -Plus is an in vitro diagnostic aid for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. QFT-Plus is an indirect test for M. tuberculosis infection (including disease) and is intended for use in conjunction with risk assessment, radiography, and other medical and diagnostic evaluations.