Volume 21, Number 3—March 2015
Dispatch
Characteristics of Tuberculosis Cases that Started Outbreaks in the United States, 2002–2011
Table
Characteristics of source case-patients for 26 investigated tuberculosis outbreaks, United States, 2002–2011
| Characteristic |
No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Demographics | |
| US-born | 19 (73) |
| Male sex | 23 (88) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| White non-Hispanic | 7 (27) |
| Black non-Hispanic | 13 (50) |
| Hispanic |
6 (23) |
| Clinical and laboratory characteristics | |
| Sputum smear positive for acid-fast bacilli | 26 (100) |
| Cavitary tuberculosis on chest radiograph | 21 (81) |
| HIV co-infection | 2 (8*) |
| Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage† | |
| EuroAmerican | 18 (69) |
| East Asian |
4 (15) |
| Social risk factors for tuberculosis | |
| Excess alcohol use | 16 (62) |
| Illicit drug use | 14 (54) |
| Homelessness within previous year | 11 (42) |
| Incarceration at diagnosis | 4 (15) |
| Incarceration ever |
13 (50) |
| Reasons for prolonged infectious period‡ | |
| Delay in seeking care after symptom onset | 8 (31) |
| Delayed diagnosis once sought care | 15 (58) |
| Noncompliance during treatment |
7 (27) |
| Method of case detection | |
| Self-reported symptoms led to diagnosis | 21 (81) |
| Tuberculosis contact investigation | 1 (4) |
| Other screening | 1 (4) |
| Unknown | 3 (12) |
*Of 24 patients for whom HIV test results were available.
†Genotype lineage was not determined for 4 outbreaks that occurred in 2002−2003, before spoligotyping was routine.
‡Causes not always documented and not mutually exclusive.
1These co–first authors contributed equally to this article.
Page created: February 18, 2015
Page updated: February 18, 2015
Page reviewed: February 18, 2015
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