The number of tuberculosis cases linked to an outbreak in the Kansas City area continues to swell, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The outbreak, which began a year ago, killed two people in 2024, Jill Bronaugh, the health department’s communications director, said in an update Tuesday. As of Friday, at least 67 patients were being treated for active tuberculosis in Kansas. All but seven of those cases were in Wyandotte County, where Kansas City is, while the others were in neighboring Johnson County. Across the two counties, the health department has also confirmed 79 inactive tuberculosis infections, meaning the host isn’t contagious and doesn’t have symptoms. If left untreated, around 5% to 10% of inactive cases develop into active disease.