KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Reflecting the local challenges of a worldwide epidemic, 145 people with active tuberculosis (TB) disease were reported in King County in 2006, a 16% rise from 2005. This number remains below the 30-year high of 158 people in 2002.

“Living in our globally-connected community has many benefits, but it also makes us more vulnerable to diseases like tuberculosis, which is much more common in other parts of the world,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County. “Through ongoing monitoring and rapid response, we’re continually working to identify and provide treatment to those who are affected and to prevent spread of infection to others.”

Key points from the new Seattle & King County 2006 Annual Tuberculosis Report, found at www.metrokc.gov/health/tb/tbfacts.htm, include:

• There were 145 newly-diagnosed people with active TB in King County, reflecting a rise from 125 in 2005 and 133 in 2004, but below 30-year peaks in 2002 (158) and 2003 (155).
• 80% of people reported with TB in 2006 (116 individuals) were foreign-born, reflecting an ongoing increase in the proportion of foreign-born persons reported with TB in King County. Overall, King County sees a higher proportion of foreign-born cases than at the national level (55% foreign-born in 2005).
• Forty-seven percent of people with TB in King County came from Asia, 14% from East Africa, and 10% from Central America.
• Blacks (30.9 per 100,000), Asians (38.3 per 100,000) and Hispanics (47.1 per 100,000) continue to have disproportionately higher rates of TB.
• 16% of TB cases were resistant to at least one TB medication, and 2% of cases were multi-drug resistant, making them difficult and costly to treat. These are comparable percentages to 2005.
• 6.9 % of TB cases were among HIV infected persons.

The TB control program is engaged in several activities to control the disease in King County :

• case management of patients with active TB disease in order to assure the cure of all TB cases, stop further transmission of TB and prevent development of multi-drug resistant TB
• timely and thorough contact investigations of active TB cases to identify, evaluate and treat those exposed and infected
• collaborative efforts with a number of public health and community partners, particularly to enhance targeted TB testing and treatment of latent TB infection
• outreach to foreign-born communities through Public Health’s Interpretation and Refugee Screening Program and the International Medicine Clinic at Harborview

In recent years, the TB program has taken several steps to improve disease control efforts, including the introduction of a new nurse case management model and a dramatic increase in the proportion of patients receiving case management and directly observed therapy. Additionally, the proportion of cases offered HIV testing in King County has improved from 85% to over 94% in the past five years.

“TB is curable and preventable, but controlling TB is an ongoing challenge,” said Dr. Masa Narita, TB Control Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County. “We have approximately 100,000 people living in our county with latent, or dormant, TB infection who are not contagious, but are potentially future active TB cases.”

Globally, one third of the world's population has TB infection, and two million people a year die of the disease.

Background on TB

Tuberculosis, also called TB, is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium named Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB usually involves the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can infect almost any organ in the body. TB is almost always curable with antibiotics that are readily available in countries such as the United States.

People with active TB disease are made sick by bacteria that are active in their body. People with inactive, or latent, TB infection are not sick because the germ is inactive inside their body, and they cannot spread TB infection to others.

Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day.

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