Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, and social characteristics of patients in TB outbreaks for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided on-site assistance, United States, 2002-2015
| No. of Cases (%) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 2009- 2015 | 2002- 2008a |
| Total | 457 (100) | 398 (100) |
| Demographic | ||
| US born | 363 (79) | 364 (91) |
| Foreign born | 94 (21) | 30 (9) |
| Male | 365 (80) | 259 (65) |
| Female | 92 (20) | 136 (35) |
| Age <15 y | 51 (11) | 50 (13) |
| Age ≥15 y | 406 (89) | 348 (87) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| Non-Hispanic black | 202 (44) | 265 (67) |
| Non-Hispanic white | 73 (16) | 66 (17) |
| Hispanic | 42 (9) | 31 (8) |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 40 (9) | 0 (0) |
| Asian American/Pacific Islander | 51 (11) | 0 (0) |
| Other or unknown | 49 (11) | 36 (9) |
| Medical risk factorsb | ||
| HIV infection | 69 (17) | 46 (12) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 42 (10) | 23 (6) |
| Previous TB disease | 14 (4) | 16 (4) |
| Other immunocompromising conditions | 27 (6) | 14 (4) |
| Mental illnessc | 92 (26) | —d |
| Social risk factors | ||
| Tobacco use at time of outbreak | 201 (44) | —d |
| Any substance use within past year | 379 (83) | 233 (59) |
| Excess alcohol use | 180 (47) | 204 (51) |
| Noninjection drug use | 95 (25) | 117 (29) |
| Injection drug use | 16 (4) | 19 (5) |
| Any history of incarceration | 135 (30) | 126 (32) |
| Homelessness within past year | 204 (45) | 78 (20) |
| Method of case detection (reason evaluated) | ||
| TB symptoms | 277 (60) | —d |
| Contact investigation | 118 (26) | —d |
| Other | 62 (14) | —d |
| Clinical symptoms and outcome | ||
| Pulmonary site of disease | 408 (89) | 333 (84) |
| Cavitary on chest radiographe | 132 (32) | 122 (37) |
| Acid-fast bacilli sputum smear positivee | 230 (56) | 204 (61) |
| Hospitalized | 113 (25) | 99 (25) |
| Died | 41 (9) | 23 (6) |
Abbreviations: HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; TB, tuberculosis.
aData for 2002-2008 were previously reported.2
bPercentages for some characteristics were based on the subset of patients with this variable systematically ascertained. Medical risk factors with complete data for 2009-2015 outbreaks: HIV results for 411 patients from 18 outbreaks, diabetes status for 410 patients from 15 outbreaks, and TB history for 368 patients from 13 outbreaks. The total number of patients with any substance abuse in 2009-2015 includes some for whom the particular substance was not ascertained in the investigation trip report (ie, some do not appear in the subsequent 3 rows).
cDefined as an Axis I disorder other than a substance use disorder, as documented in a patient’s medical record. Percentage based on the 351 patients in 8 outbreaks for whom a history of mental illness was systematically ascertained during the 2009-2015 outbreak investigations.
dData concerning these characteristics were not collected for the 2002-2008 outbreaks.
ePercentages based on the proportion of 333 people with pulmonary disease diagnosed during the 2002-2008 outbreaks and 408 diagnosed during the 2009-2015 outbreaks.