An old bacterial foe has been making itself very cozy in Kansas.
Dozens of active and latent TB cases have been linked to the outbreak dating back to last year.
And the danger has not yet passed.
An illustration of tuberculosis bacteria© Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty
This is mainly due to the rapid number of cases in the short amount of time.
This outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases.
TBis caused byMycobacterium tuberculosis.
It spreads between people through the air and typically affects the lungs, though it can invade elsewhere.
Acute cases of TB usually result in respiratory symptoms like chest pains, chills, and coughing up blood.
People withHIVare especially vulnerable to TB, since theyre much more likely to develop an acute, life-threatening case.
Prior to these developments, TB has often been a common threat to Americans.
That said, TB has remained a major killer elsewhere.
So while this outbreak is alarming, its hopefully on its way to being fully contained.
Because it is highly contagious.
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