Kansas City: An outbreak of tuberculosis in the Kansas City area has grown into one of the largest ever recorded in the United States, with dozens of active cases of the infectious disease reported, according to health officials.
According to Bahrain News Agency, as of January 24, 67 active cases of tuberculosis, or TB, had been reported in Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas. The outbreak began last year, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said on its website. It did not specify the source of the outbreak.
Tuberculosis, which spreads through the air, is caused by a bacterium that typically affects the lungs, but can also impact other parts of the body, such as the brain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If not treated, it can be fatal.