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Volume 32, Number 6—June 2026
Research
Characteristics of Plausible Source Cases Responsible for Recent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transmission, United States, 2018–2022
Table 1
Characteristics of all plausible source TB cases during 2018–2020 responsible for recent Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission during 2020–2022, United States*
| Characteristic | Nonplausible source | Plausible source | p value† |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total cases, n = 19,577 |
18,684 (95.4) |
893 (4.6) |
|
| Sex | <0.001 | ||
| M | 11,465 (61.4) | 631 (70.7) | |
| F | 7,216 (38.6) | 262 (29.3) | |
| Unknown |
3 (0) |
0 |
|
| Age, y | <0.001 | ||
| <5 | 185 (1.0) | 0 | |
| 5–14 | 191 (1.0) | 13 (1.5) | |
| 15–24 | 1,802 (9.6) | 120 (13.4) | |
| 25–44 | 5,521 (29.5) | 338 (37.9) | |
| 45–64 | 5,503 (29.5) | 337 (37.7) | |
| >65 |
5,482 (29.3) |
85 (9.5) |
|
| Origin of birth | <0.001 | ||
| United States | 4,829 (25.8) | 536 (60.0) | |
| Non-US country | 13,826 (74.0) | 356 (39.9) | |
| Unknown |
29 (0.2) |
1 (0.1) |
|
| Race and ethnicity‡ | <0.001 | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | 5,459 (29.2) | 290 (32.5) | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 161 (0.9) | 47 (5.3) | |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 215 (1.2) | 29 (3.2) | |
| Black | 3,377 (18.1) | 325 (36.4) | |
| Asian | 7,161 (38.3) | 86 (9.6) | |
| White | 2,115 (11.3) | 104 (11.6) | |
| Multiple race | 137 (0.7) | 6 (0.7) | |
| Unknown |
59 (0.3) |
6 (0.7) |
|
| Resident of a correctional facility at TB diagnosis | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 464 (2.5) | 49 (5.5) | |
| N | 18,154 (97.2) | 834 (93.4) | |
| Unknown |
66 (0.3) |
10 (1.1) |
|
| Experiencing homelessness within past 12 mo | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 744 (4.0) | 138 (15.4) | |
| N | 17,776 (95.1) | 740 (82.9) | |
| Unknown |
164 (0.9) |
15 (1.7) |
|
| Excess alcohol use within past 12 mo | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 1,618 (8.7) | 184 (20.6) | |
| N | 16,783 (89.8) | 687 (76.9) | |
| Unknown |
283 (1.5) |
22 (2.5) |
|
| Noninjection drug use within past 12 mo | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 1,213 (6.5) | 204 (22.8) | |
| N | 17,022 (91.1) | 650 (72.8) | |
| Unknown |
449 (2.4) |
39 (4.4) |
|
| Sputum smear | <0.001 | ||
| Positive | 8,788 (47.0) | 621 (69.5) | |
| Negative | 7,759 (41.5) | 217 (24.3) | |
| Not done | 2,119 (11.3) | 55 (6.2) | |
| Unknown |
18 (0.1) |
0 |
|
| Cavitary disease§ | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 6,638 (35.5) | 541 (60.6) | |
| N | 9,877 (52.9) | 310 (34.7) | |
| Unknown |
2,169 (11.6) |
42 (4.7) |
|
| Contact of infectious tuberculosis patient during past 2 y | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 970 (5.2) | 122 (13.7) | |
| Unknown/not reported |
17,714 (94.8) |
771 (86.3) |
|
| Median Social Vulnerability Index score (IQR) ¶ | 0.73 (0.49–0.86) | 0.83 (0.66–0.89) | <0.001# |
| Socioeconomic status | 0.65 (0.34–0.86) | 0.80 (0.58–0.92) | <0.001# |
| Household characteristics | 0.45 (0.23–0.70) | 0.56 (0.32–0.74) | <0.001# |
| Racial and ethnic minority status | 0.91 (0.78–0.96) | 0.92 (0.82–0.97) | <0.001# |
| Housing type and transportation | 0.78 (0.61–0.90) | 0.83 (0.68–0.91) | <0.001# |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. IQR, interquartile range; TB, tuberculosis. †χ2 test or Fisher exact test when <5 cases expected. ‡Except for Hispanic or Latino, all are non-Hispanic. §Evidence of >1 lung cavities with chest radiograph, chest computerized tomography, or both. ¶Overall Social Vulnerability Index includes 16 US Census indicators from the 5-year American Community Survey grouped into 4 themes: socioeconomic status, household characteristics, racial and ethnic minority status, and housing type and transportation. Ranking values range from 0 to 1, and higher values indicate higher vulnerability and are merged to each case using the patient’s county of residence. #Wilcoxon rank sum test.