Tuberculosis Control Program

Contact Information
Los Angeles County
Department of Public Health
Tuberculosis Control Program
5555 Ferguson Drive,
Commerce, CA 90007
Phone: (213) 745-0800
*The phones may not be working properly, if are experiencing difficulties, call (213) 745-0811*
Fax: (213) 749-0926
Email: tbc@ph.lacounty.gov

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Tuberculosis Control Program

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Public Health Programs and Services
Tuberculosis Control Program
1999 Fact Sheet
Tuberculosis Epidemiology Update

  1. Worldwide, 2-3 million people each year die of TB. Annually, eight million people develop active TB disease. Between 1993 and 1996, there was a 13% increase in TB cases worldwide. Nearly 2 million TB cases per year occur in sub-Saharan Africa, about 3 million per year in south-east Asia, and about a quarter of a million TB cases per year occur in Eastern Europe. "Each person with active TB disease can infect between 10-15 people in one year by just breathing. The best way to prevent TB is to treat and cure all people who have it." 1
  2. Nationally, the number of TB cases reported in the United States has declined for the seventh straight year. In 1999, TB cases declined 5% from 18,371 in 1998 to 17,528 in 1999. The number of TB cases in the State of California has also declined for the seventh straight year. The latest decline was at 6.4% from 3,855 in1998 to 3,608 in 1999.
  3. In 1999, 1,170 cases of TB were confirmed in Los Angeles County. This represents a 9.9% decrease in cases from 1998 (1,299 cases) and a 46.8% decrease since 1992 (2,198 cases). This is the seventh year of decline since the peak of 2,198 cases reported in 1992, the highest number reported in Los Angeles County in decades. The average annual percent decline from 1992 to 1999 was 8.5%.
  4. More males were reported with tuberculosis than females. In 1999, 732 (62.6%) cases were male and 438 (37.4%) cases were female.
  5. Seventy two percent of the 1999 cases were in the foreign-born population. Of the 844 foreign-born, 334 cases (39.6%) were from Mexico, 130 (15.4%) were from the Philippines, 57 (6.8%) were from Vietnam, 53 (6.3%) were from South Korea, 47 (5.6%) were from Guatemala, 41 (4.9%) were from China, and 24 (2.8%) were from El Salvador. In 1999, date of arrival in the US was reported for 786 (93.1%) of the foreign-born cases. Among all foreign-born cases with a known date of arrival in the United States, 171 (21.8%) were recent immigrants.
  6. The racial/ethnic breakdown of TB cases reported in 1999 was as follows: 552 (47.2 %) were Hispanic, 358 (30.6%) were Asian/Other, 141 (12.1%) were African-American and 119 (10.2%) were non-Hispanic Whites.
  7. The age group with the largest number of reported TB cases was the 65 and older age group with 283 cases (24.2%), followed by the 15-34 year old age group with 276 cases (23.6%), the 35-44 year old age group with 209 cases (17.9%), and the 45-54 year old age group with 203 cases (17.4%). There was a decrease in number of cases in each age group.
  8. There were 82 (7.0%) TB patients reported as homeless in Los Angeles County in 1999. Of these, 75 (91.5%) were male. Among all homeless TB case, 44 (53.7%) were Hispanic, 22 (26.8%) were African-American, 12 (14.6%) were non-Hispanic White and 4 (4.9%) were Asian or other. Thirty (36.6%) of all the homeless cases fell within the 35-44 year old age group, 23 (28.1%) were within the 45-54 year old age group, 14 (17.1%) within the 15-34 year old age group and 12 (14.6%) fell within the 55-64 year old age group. Three cases (3.7%) were over 65 years of age.
  9. There were 105 (9%) TB cases co-infected with HIV in 1999. Of these, 94 (89.5%) were male. Among all HIV infected TB cases, 65 (61.9%) were Hispanic, 23 (21.9%) were African-American, 12 (11.4%) were non-Hispanic White and 5 (4.8%) were Asian. Thirty six percent of all co-infected cases fell within the 35-44 year old age group, 32.4% were in the 15-34 year old age group and 22.9% were in the 45-54 year old age group.



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