Epidemiology/Statistics

Although TB cases continue to decline in Michigan and across the nation, there are still many challenges to face. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report in May 2000 on the status of TB elimination in the United States entitled Ending Neglect: The Elimination of Tuberculosis in the United States. In the report, the Institute writes:

"We are now at a critical juncture. On the one hand, control of tuberculosis in the United States has been regained and we are at an all-time low in the number of new cases. On the other hand, we are particularly vulnerable again to the complacency and neglect that comes with declining numbers of cases. Now is the time to commit to the abolition of the recurrent cycles of neglect followed by resurgence that has been the history of tuberculosis. ... But to meet this goal, aggressive and decisive action beyond what is now in effect will be required."

Michigan, along with twenty-one other states, is considered a "low-incidence" state with case rates of active tuberculosis below 3.5/100,000 population. The number of reported cases has been slowly declining since 1993, although this decline has not been of equal benefit for all racial and ethnic groups. Between twenty and thirty residents die each year in the state as a result of TB.

A primary challenge that Michigan must face is maintaining a well-trained and knowledgeable reservoir of health care professionals, both public and private, in the face of declining case numbers. Information regarding diagnosis and treatment of both active TB and latent TB infection can be found in the MI-ACET Document on the Health Care Professionals page on this web site.