An ‘unprecedented’ tuberculosis outbreak is spreading through Kansas, with officials warning that it might get worse.

The Department of Health and Environment officials stated on Monday that the current outbreak is the largest documented outbreak in US history, as reported by KSHB.

Health officials disclosed that as of Friday, there were a total of 67 active cases and 79 latent cases. Latent cases refer to individuals who carry the bacteria but do not display symptoms of the disease.

Cases were first reported last January, and has spread through the Kansas City metropolitan area rapidly, KAKE reports.

It spreads through the air when infected people cough, speak or sing, and mainly affects the lungs.

Jill Bronaugh, the communications director for the health department, mentioned to the Topeka Capital-Journal that the outbreak is ongoing, indicating the possibility of additional cases surfacing.

She noted that ‘there are a few other states that currently have large outbreaks that are also ongoing.’

To help stop the spread, the health department mobilized staff and resources to address the ‘unprecedented’ outbreak, Ashley Goss, the deputy secretary of public health for the department said at a state senate committee meeting on public health and welfare last week.

A tuberculosis outbreak is spreading through Kansas, with officials saying it might get worse

It spreads through the air when infected people cough, speak or sing, and mainly affects the lungs

She noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is supporting the efforts to address the outbreak.

‘CDC remains on the ground with us to support [the efforts],’ she said. ‘That’s not a negative. This is normal when there’s something unprecedented or a large outbreak of any kind, they will come and lend resources to us to help get a stop to that.’

Goss also noted that the department is currently working with employers ‘that are involved’ with the outbreak.

‘We do expect to find more, but we are hoping the more that we find is latent TB and not active, so that their lives are not disrupted in having to stay home from work because it is highly contagious,’ she said.

Symptoms of the bacterial infection include a prolonged cough, which could include a bloody cough, night sweats and weight loss. 

Those symptoms could persist for weeks or even months, health officials warn.

But at least 90 percent of the people who get infected with the disease never have any symptoms and have latent tuberculosis, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, the medical director of Infection Prevention Control with the University of Kansas Health System, told KSN.

‘The… 10 percent or less that develop tuberculosis disease is mostly what people are familiar with, and that can be a public health emergency or problem,’ she said.

The Department of Health and Environment reported 67 active cases and 79 latent cases as of Friday

‘It is vitally important that our public health infrastructure is good, so that we can identify who has tuberculosis disease and then who their contacts may be, so they can reduce the spread to other people.’

Sedgwick County Health Department Deputy Director Chris Steward also said it is important ‘for people to recognize that we do have tuberculosis … just like we have other whooping cough and other diseases.

‘So if you’re coughing, cover your cough,’ he said. ‘If you’re sick, go see the doctor and just know that the risk of tuberculosis in Sedgwick County is very low to the general public.’ 

Any patient who does test positive will then be screened to determine whether they have an active or latent infection, which the health department said ‘will help determine the best treatment.

‘Treatment will be provided through the patient’s local health department and it will be provided for free if the person is uninsured or the treatment isn’t covered by health insurance,’ the department said in a statement.

To treat the spread, the health department mobilized staff and resources to the infected communities, Ashley Goss, the deputy secretary of public health for the department said at a state senate committee meeting on public health and welfare last week

The treatment predominantly comprises four antibiotics that patients would take for several weeks, before they are weaned down to two pills.

At times, people infected with the disease may need to take the antibiotics for six months or longer. 

But for active patients, after just 10 days of taking the medication and having three sputum tests, they will generally no longer be able to transmit the infection.

‘They’re no longer contagious,’ Goss said. ‘They can go about their lives, they don’t have to stay away from people and they can go back to work, do the things as long as they continue to take their meds.’