Is tuberculosis a re-emerging infectious disease?
Yes. With the discovery of anti-TB drugs in the 1940s, U.S. cases began to decrease for most of the 20th century. However, between 1985 and 1992, TB cases increased. This resurgence of TB prompted the mobilization of improved efforts to prevent and control TB. As a result, cases have dropped each year since 1993. The main reasons for the increase seen between 1985 and 1992 were: • Failure to recognize TB infection and TB disease in newly arriving immigrants — In the United States, TB occurs often in people born in areas of the world where TB is common. The numbers and proportions of TB cases in the foreign born have increased each year over the past decade and make up more than a third of reported cases. • Urban crowding and crowded group living situations — TB cases are increasing in places where people with undiagnosed and untreated TB congregate and where health care is poor. Also, people in group settings (such as nursing homes, long-term-care hospitals, prisons, and homeless she
