California experienced a surge in tuberculosis cases in 2023, reaching levels not seen since before the pandemic.
In 2023, there were 2,113 reported cases of tuberculosis in California – a 15 percent increase from the 1,842 reported cases in 2022.
The number of cases in 2023 reflects those in 2019 – which had 2,110 cases.
After reported cases decreased by 20 percent from 2019 to 2020, but the number has steadily risen each year. Since 2020, reported cases have increased by 24 percent.
However, the 15 percent increase in 2023 represents the largest year-over-year rise in recent years. In 2022, reported cases increased by 5 percent; in 2021, reported cases rose by 3 percent.
This recent surge has prompted the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to issue a health advisory to healthcare providers about the “substantial increase in Tuberculosis in California.”
The CDPH recommended that healthcare providers “consider TB when TB risks, signs, symptoms, or imaging findings compatible with TB are present in a patient with a respiratory illness.”
The department also noted that the risk for TB is significantly higher when the person has lived in a country with an elevated TB rate. Those who are immunocompromised, have been in close contact with someone with active TB disease, lived in a “congregate setting such as prison/jail,” or have experienced homelessness are all risk factors, as well.
Symptoms include a cough that persists for more than two weeks, weight loss, fever or night sweats, and Hemoptysis. Health officials cautioned that the symptoms vary widely and sometimes TB does not present with any symptoms.
