LA County Department of Public Health - Tuberculosis Control Program

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Tuberculosis Control Program
2001 Epidemiology Fact Sheet
Foreign-Born Tuberculosis Cases

In the United States, in the year 2000, 15,991 7,554 foreign-born TB cases were were reported representing 46.1 % of the total 16,377 TB cases in the nation. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of the foreign-born TB cases in the United States from 1990 (24.4%) to 1999 (43.1%). Tuberculosis case rates among the foreign-born are also consistently higher than US-born persons. In 2000, the foreign-born TB case rate was 25.8 cases per 100,000 population compared to 3.5 cases per 100,000 population for US-born TB cases.¹
In California, in the year 2001, 2,482 foreign-born TB cases were were reported representing 74.5% of the total 3,332 TB cases in the state. These 2,482 cases represent a 4.4% increase in the number of foreign-born TB cases (2,377) from 2000. ^{2, 3}
In the year 2001, there were 1,046 cases of TB reported in Los Angeles County. Of the total 1,046 cases, 77% (805) were foreign-born. The foreign-born TB cases were reported from 44 different foreign countries and areas in 2001.4 Of the 805 foreign born TB cases, 274 (34.0 %) were from Mexico, 148 (18.4%) were from the Philippines, 56 (7.0%) were from China, 55 (6.8%) were from South Korea, 51 (6.3%) were from Vietnam, 43 (5.3%) were from El Salvador and 35 (4.4%) were from Guatemala.
In 2001, 496 (61.6%) of the foreign-born cases were male and 309 (38.4%) were female. A similar proportion of male to female (60:40) foreign-born TB cases was also observed among the White, Hispanic and Asian foreign-born TB cases. Among Black foreign-born TB cases, 92.3% were male and 7.7% were female.
Of the total 805 foreign-born TB cases, the age group with the largest number of foreign-born TB cases was the 15-34 year old age group with 224 cases (27.8 %), followed by the 65 years and older age group with 200 cases (24.8%), the 35-44 age group with 129 cases (16.0 %) and the 55-64 age group with 121 cases (15.0%). For Asian and White foreign-born TB cases, the highest percentages were among the elderly (30.1% and 62.5%, respectively), while for Hispanic and Black foreign-born TB cases the highest percentages were among the 15-34 year old age group (37.4% and 53.9% respectively).
The racial breakdown of the foreign-born TB cases was 398 (49.4%) Hispanic, 362 (45.0%) Asian, 32 (4.0%) White, and 13 (1.6%) Black.
In 2001, of the 805 foreign-born TB cases, 47 (5.8 %) were co-infected with HIV. Of these 47, thirty-nine (83.0%) cases were Hispanic, 5 (10.6%) were Asian, 2 (4.3%) were White, and 1 (2.1%) was Black.
In 2001, 37 (4.6 %) foreign-born TB cases were homeless. Most, 31 cases (83.8%), were Hispanic.
Six hundred and sixty-nine cases (83.1%) were diagnosed as pulmonary TB, and 136 cases (16.9%) as extra-pulmonary TB only.

¹ CDC. Reported Tuberculosis in The United States, 2000

² California Department of Health Services. Report on Tuberculosis in California, 2001.

³ California Department of Health Services. Report on Tuberculosis in California, 2000.

⁴ Epidemiology Services, TB Control Program, Department of Health and Services, Los Angeles County. Tuberculosis Epidemiology Assessment (TEAM) Report 2001; Volume 2002.