Reported tuberculosis (TB) diagnoses in the United States fell 20% in 2020 and remained 13% lower in 2021 than TB diagnoses made prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday, while a study today highlights disparities in at-home COVID testing.

Almost 7,900 TB cases in 2021

Before the pandemic, TB diagnoses declined by 1% to 2% each year. Mask use and distancing measures—aimed at preventing COVID spread—likely also limited TB transmission, the CDC said. TB infections were also likely missed as healthcare visits dropped during the first months of the pandemic.

Moreover, some people with TB may have been evaluated and tested for COVID-19, and not TB, and thus did not receive appropriate treatment.

"Delayed or missed tuberculosis disease diagnoses are threatening the health of people with TB disease and the communities where they live," said Philip LoBue, director of CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination in a press release. "The nation must ensure that healthcare providers understand how to diagnose and distinguish TB disease from potential cases of COVID-19."

A total of 7,860 TB cases were reported in 2021, and 56 US cases of multidrug-resistant TB were confirmed in 2020, the CDC said in a fact sheet. The agency also noted 526 deaths attributed to the disease in 2019, the most recent year for which data were available.

Read more...