NYC struggling to contain ‘dramatic’ increase in tuberculosis cases amid COVID, migrant concernsBy Marc Lallanilla
Published Oct. 6, 2023
Years of budget cuts and staffing shortages have left the New York City Department of Health too hobbled to contain a sharp rise in local cases of tuberculosis, according to a bombshell new report.
TB is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, and there have been about 500 active cases of TB in NYC so far in 2023.
That’s an increase of about 20% over the same time last year, according to “internal preliminary data” reported by Politico, making 2023 the worst year for TB infections in a decade.
“This is definitely a more dramatic resurgence than we would have probably expected,” said Elizabeth Lovinger of Treatment Action Group, a NYC public health advocacy group. “When there are particularly high spikes in TB and other infectious diseases in New York City, that tends to be kind of a bellwether for the rest of the country.”
The spike in NYC cases has also been partly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic — and vaccine fatigue — hindering efforts to diagnose and treat cases, and to the arrival in the city since spring 2022 of over 100,000 migrants, who are at a heightened risk of developing active tuberculosis infections.
Meanwhile, TB cases have recently been reported in Olathe, Kansas, and in Brockton, Massachusetts. Last month, the United Nations held a high-level meeting to discuss strategies to control the global spread of the disease.
Despite the concerning new data, NYC Health Department spokesperson Patrick Gallahue told The Post, “This city is a leader in TB care.”
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/10/06/dramatic-spike-in-tb-cases-overwhelms-nyc-health-dept/
