Tuberculosis cases have declined in New York State during the past year.
NY State health Commisioner Nirav Shah stated that Tuberculosis remains a global challenge, but New York continues to focus on helping to control the disease through effective diagnosis and treatment.
There were 954 TB cases reported in New York during 2010, a decrease of 5 percent from 2009, with New York City accounting for 711 of the cases – down 6 percent from the previous year.
In 2010, the rate of TB in New York was 5.0 cases per 100,000 residents, which is one of the highest rates in the nation and above the national average of 3.6 cases/100,000 residents.
The total number of TB cases in New York is the third highest of any state in the nation behind California and Texas.
Outside New York City, 243 cases were reported in the State, a 1 percent decrease from 2009.
Approximately half (51.4 percent) of cases outside New York City were reported from three counties: Nassau, Westchester and Suffolk.
Only two cases were diagnosed in the state prison system, compared to 75 or more reported cases each year in the early 1990s.
There were 14 new multidrug-resistant TB cases diagnosed in New York State in 2010, up from 13 reported in 2009, but lower than the 20-30 cases per year reported in recent years.
In 2010, 79 percent of reported cases were among persons born outside the United States, with predominant areas of origin including Latin America, East Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
