Three active tuberculosis cases reported in Maine as deadly disease continues to tick up across country

There are three active cases of tuberculosis in Maine as of this week as TB continues to increase across the country, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for the agency, said it is “aware of three active TB cases with links to the Greater Portland area and is in the midst of conducting our typical response.” 

She said the Maine CDC was working to reach anyone who might have come into contact with any of the infected patients so they can be tested.

Hammes added that each case appears to be contracted from a separate source. 

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Maine CDC for comment. 

While not as contagious as the flu or COVID-19, tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing more than one million people each year, according to the World Health Organization. 

A high school student in Riverside County in California also tested positive for an active case of TB this week, officials said, but is receiving treatment and is excited to make a full recovery, KTLA-TV reported. 

Last week, another active case was reported at a high school in Michigan, WWJ-TV reported.

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After decades of decline, tuberculosis cases began to tick up in 2021, following a large decline in 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2022, and the trend has continued since then. 

In Maine, the state CDC reported there have been 28 cases of TB this year through the end of July, according to the Herald, but stressed there is no outbreak. 

Not everyone infected with TB gets symptoms, but those with active cases can suffer from a persistent cough, including coughing up blood or sputum, chest pain, fever, and fatigue. 

TB is a bacterial infection that targets the lungs, but can also infect other organs, and is spread from person to person through the air, according to Johns Hopkins. 

The disease is curable with antibiotics.