Houston Methodist Tuberculosis expert Ed Graviss says U.S. experiencing its highest number of TB cases in 10 years

With tuberculosis (TB) experiencing a resurgence as the top infectious disease killer globally and resulting in roughly 1.25 million deaths last year, the world is seeing its highest number of TB cases recorded in the nearly three decades since the World Health Organization (WHO) began global monitoring of TB in 1995. A recent report from the WHO revealed there were more than 8 million newly diagnosed individuals with TB in 2023, representing a notable increase over the previous year and surpassing COVID-19.

Edward A. Graviss, Ph.D., M.P.H., a professor of pathology and genomic medicine with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, says the U.S. is experiencing its highest number of TB cases in a decade. Texas had 1,245 of the 9,615 cases of TB in the U.S., with Houston coming in at 166 cases.

“TB cases in 2023 were at their highest in the U.S. since 2013 and the highest in Texas since 2016, with Texas having the second-highest number of TB cases for states in the U.S. behind California,” Graviss said.

Dr. Graviss has extensive expertise in the study of the epidemiology and population-based surveillance of a variety of infectious agents including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. His recent studies focus on evaluation of the new Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRAs) in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection.

Graviss, who is with the Houston Methodist Center for Infectious Diseases and a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, is available for interviews to answer questions about tuberculosis and discuss this surge in numbers.