Volume 32, Number 6—June 2026
Research
Characteristics of Plausible Source Cases Responsible for Recent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transmission, United States, 2018–2022
Table 2
Characteristics of most likely 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 no. (%) cases, n = 19,577 |
18,932 (96.7) |
645 (3.3) |
|
| Sex | <0.001 | ||
| M | 11,640 (61.5) | 456 (70.7) | |
| F | 7,289 (38.5) | 189 (29.3) | |
| Unknown |
3 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
|
| Age, y | <0.001 | ||
| <5 | 185 (1.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| 5–14 | 198 (1.0) | 6 (0.9) | |
| 15–24 | 1,828 (9.7) | 94 (14.6) | |
| 25–44 | 5,620 (29.7) | 239 (37.1) | |
| 45–64 | 5,597 (29.6) | 243 (37.7) | |
| >65 |
5,504 (29.1) |
63 (9.8) |
|
| Origin of birth | <0.001 | ||
| United States | 5,022 (26.5) | 343 (53.2) | |
| Non-US country | 13,881 (73.3) | 301(46.7) | |
| Unknown |
29 (0.2) |
1 (0.2) |
|
| Race and ethnicity‡ | <0.001 | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | 5,513 (29.1) | 236 (36.6) | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 186 (1.0) | 22 (3.4) | |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 221 (1.2) | 23 (3.6) | |
| Black | 3,486 (18.4) | 216 (33.5) | |
| Asian | 7,175 (37.9) | 72 (11.2) | |
| White | 2,150 (11.4) | 69 (10.7) | |
| Multiple race | 141 (0.7) | 2 (0.3) | |
| Unknown |
60 (0.3) |
5 (0.8) |
|
| Resident of a correctional facility at time of TB diagnosis | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 483 (2.6) | 30 (4.7) | |
| N | 18,381 (97.1) | 607 (94.1) | |
| Unknown |
68 (0.4) |
8 (1.2) |
|
| Experiencing homelessness within past 12 mo | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 793 (4.2) | 89 (13.8) | |
| N | 17,973 (94.9) | 543 (84.2) | |
| Unknown |
166 (0.9) |
13 (2.0) |
|
| Excess alcohol use within past 12 mo | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 1,683 (8.9) | 119 (18.5) | |
| N | 16,961 (89.6) | 509 (78.9) | |
| Unknown |
288 (1.5) |
17 (2.6) |
|
| Noninjection drug use within past 12 mo | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 1,273 (6.7) | 144 (22.3) | |
| N | 17,199 (90.9) | 473 (73.3) | |
| Unknown |
460 (2.4) |
28 (4.3) |
|
| Sputum smear | <0.001 | ||
| Positive | 8,909 (47.1) | 500 (77.5) | |
| Negative | 7,863 (41.5) | 113 (17.5) | |
| Not done | 2,142 (11.3) | 32 (5.0) | |
| Unknown |
18 (0.1) |
0 (0.0) |
|
| Cavitary disease§ | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 6,737 (35.6) | 442 (68.5) | |
| N | 10,004 (52.8) | 183 (28.4) | |
| Unknown |
2,191 (11.6) |
20 (3.1) |
|
| Contact of infectious tuberculosis patient during prior 2 y | <0.001 | ||
| Y | 1,030 (5.4) | 62 (9.6) | |
| Unknown/not reported |
17,902 (94.6) |
583 (90.4) |
|
| Median Social Vulnerability Index score (IQR)¶ | 0.73 (0.49–0.86) | 0.80 (0.65–0.89) | <0.001# |
| Socioeconomic status | 0.65 (0.34–0.87) | 0.79 (0.56–0.90) | <0.001# |
| Household characteristics | 0.46 (0.23–0.70) | 0.55 (0.32–0.74) | <0.001# |
| Racial and ethnic minority status | 0.91 (0.78–0.97) | 0.91 (0.81–0.97) | 0.006# |
| Housing type and transportation | 0.78 (0.61–0.90) | 0.82 (0.67–0.91) | <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.