December 2024—Qiagen has called for a sharper focus on testing strategies to stop new cases of tuberculosis from erupting and spreading in the United States. The U.S. has maintained one of the lowest TB rates in the world, but case counts across all age groups have risen every year since 2020, including a 16 percent increase in cases from 8,320 in 2022 to 9,615 in 2023 (Williams PM, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;73[12]:265–270). The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its TB screening guidelines this year to encourage use of blood-based testing for children of all ages, including from birth to two years old.
“In addition to the thousands of active cases seen in the U.S. each year, an estimated 13 million Americans from all walks of life are already infected with a latent or silent form of TB and don’t know it,” Nedal Safwat, PhD, Qiagen’s vice president of molecular diagnostics, North America, said in a press statement. “But when TB is in its silent stage it can be effectively and affordably treated. The only way we can meet goals to end TB is to diagnose and treat these individuals before their disease erupts, infects others, and inflicts lingering or lifelong disability.”
The CDC and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend testing people who are at increased risk for TB infection, including populations defined locally as having an increased incidence of latent TB infection or TB disease, such as medically underserved populations, low-income populations, or people who abuse drugs or alcohol; people who currently live or used to live in large group settings where TB is common, such as homeless shelters, correctional facilities, or nursing homes; and people who were born in or who frequently travel to countries where TB disease is common.
Qiagen, 240-686-7700