After a decades-long decrease from 1953 through 1984 in the number of TB cases reported annually in the United States, TB has reemerged as a serious national problem. During this period, approximately 64,000 more cases were reported than would have been predicted from the trend of decline from 1980 through 1984.
Some groups are at higher risk for TB than others.
In 1944, the year the U.S. Public Health Service Tuberculosis Program was created, more than 126,000 cases were reported. After the introduction of treatment for TB in the late 1940s, there was hope that TB would soon be eradicated. During this period, approximately 64,000 more cases of TB were reported than would have been predicted from the trend of decline from 1980 through 1984. An estimated 10 to 15 million persons in this country are infected with M. tuberculosis . TB disease may develop in these persons at some time in the future.