An unprecedented tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Kansas has reached historic levels, becoming the largest recorded in U.S. history.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has reported 67 active cases since 2024, with 60 in Wyandotte County and 7 in Johnson County.

Additionally, 79 latent infections—77 in Wyandotte County and 2 in Johnson County—have been identified.

“Currently, Kansas has the largest outbreak that they’ve ever had in history,” Ashley Goss, a deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), told the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on January 21, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

A KDHE spokesperson later clarified the statement, explaining that the current outbreak “is the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history.” Newsweek contacted the KDHE via email for further comment.

Why This Matters

TB, though treatable, remains a serious infectious disease that can lead to complications and fatalities if untreated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate 13 million Americans live with inactive TB and about 10 percent of these individuals could develop active TB without treatment.

The sharp rise in TB cases—from 51 statewide in 2023 to 109 in 2024—has placed a spotlight on public health measures. Kansas health officials are actively working to contain the outbreak, partnering with the CDC to prevent further transmission.

What to Know

TB is caused by bacteria that primarily attack the lungs but can affect other parts of the body. The infection spreads through the air via coughs or speech but requires prolonged contact for transmission.

Active TB disease makes individuals sick and is infectious, while latent TB infections are dormant, non-contagious and symptom-free but can become active.

Treatment is available for both active and latent TB infections and involves a several-month regimen of antibiotics. Active TB patients are typically non-contagious after 10 days of treatment.

Wyandotte County has been the hardest hit, but health officials maintain that the general public remains at “very low risk.”

What People Are Saying

Goss told the Senate Committee: “Some of you are aware, we have and still have mobilized staff and resources addressing an unprecedented tuberculosis outbreak in one of our counties. We are working collaboratively with CDC on that. CDC remains on the ground with us to support. That’s not a negative.

“This is normal when there’s something unprecedented or a large outbreak of any kind, they will come and lend resources to us to help get a stop to that.”

What Happens Next

Kansas health officials and the CDC are continuing their collaborative response to the outbreak.

Their efforts include identifying and testing individuals who have been in close contact with TB patients and ensuring that both active and latent cases receive proper treatment.

Vaccinations for TB are available in the U.S., though they are seldom used, according to the CDC.

For now, Goss said that infections are “trending in the right direction.”

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Kansas State point guard Dug McDaniel is a self-proclaimed “pass-first” point guard.

That doesn’t mean he can’t score the ball. He scored a team-high 15 points in Saturday’s victory against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Afterward, he said it helps teammates Max Jones and Brendan Hausen when the point guard is aggressive.

“It definitely helps the offense when the head of the snake of being aggressive,” McDaniel said. “Putting pressure on the defense, it opens it up for guys like Max and Brendan to get easier shots because they have to respect what I’m doing.”

The victory helped the Wildcats snap a six-game losing streak. Coach Jerome Tang has made an effort to make McDaniel become a better scorer.

“Me and coach been talking the last few days,” McDaniel said. “He’s been preaching to me to be aggressive, think score first. The pass is always going to be there. I’m a pass-first point guard. That’s like second nature to me. He just wants me to be aggressive, put pressure on the defense early so I can get my guys open.”

TANG APPRECIATES THE FANS

Tang had been under fire during the losing streak, taking criticism from fans the past few weeks. The win should calm the fan base at the time being. The Wildcats (8-11 overall and 2-6) need a lot of work to improve their resume if they want an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Tang was thankful for the strong fan turnout.

“So thankful to the students, man,” Tang said. “I walked out and I saw them, my joy tank was full seeing them. They really provided great energy for us and allowed us to get off to a great start.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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It was an unforgettable night for Bill Self and the University of Kansas men’s basketball team against Houston on Saturday night and for all of the wrong reasons.

Leading by six points with 1:31 left in regulation, No. 12 Kansas lost to No. 7 Houston, 92-86 in double overtime. It was the second home loss for Self’s squad this season.

Still, Kansas had a chance to close out Houston late in the first overtime session and looked poised to do just that with 18 seconds left on the clock.

Leading by six points, Kansas guard Dajuan Harris stepped to the free-throw hoping to increase KU’s lead to eight points.

Instead, Harris missed both free throws and the Cougars took full advantage. After the second miss by Harris, Emanuel Sharp pulled Houston to within three points when his three-point attempt splashed through the net.

After a brief 30-second timeout, Kansas, up by three points, turned the ball over, which resulted in a game-tying three by Mylik Wilson.

Houston, in outscoring Kansas, 13-7 in the second overtime, never trailed during that final overtime session.

With 58 seconds left in double overtime, Kansas pulled to within two points but would get no closer in the final 58 seconds of the second overtime.

A number of factors played a role in Saturday night’s home loss to Houston. Missed free throws certainly hurt, but so did KU’s inability to inbound the basketball late in regulation and overtime.

“We didn’t execute, put it on me,” said Bill Self on Saturday night. “We got a way to get it in that we practice every day and, obviously, maybe not having KJ (Adams), who’s our best athlete that can get open, but we didn’t make a great effort to get open and didn’t call the timeout when we had one.

“When the count got to four, I should have done that,” he added. “And then the second one, we didn’t make a great effort, and then when they threw it in, I didn’t tell them to foul immediately. If something went bad, I thought that was sending the wrong message. So, obviously, something did go bad, and then they make the shot. So yeah, we had numerous opportunities. We played really well. Kids fought their asses off and obviously just didn’t make plays when it counted the most, and they made everyone.”

Kansas, leading 66-64 with 16.7 seconds left in the second half, turned the ball over (called for a five-second violation), right under the Houston basket.

With 14 seconds left, Shakeel Moore fouled J’Wan Roberts, who converted both free throws to tie the game.

Self, after the game, was asked if bouncing back from a loss like the one suffered against Houston is easier said than done.

We’re not going to move on from this,” said Self. “Hopefully, we won’t tomorrow. Hopefully, we will Monday, and put it behind us, but it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one. I think the only one that I can remember that would be comparable, and it wasn’t as bad, but was when Acie Law made the shot against us with Texas A&M and we had that game in hand and they went to the Hack-a-Shaq on us and we ended up missing free throws.

“So that’s the only one that I can remember, a home game, in which it probably, we left out of here probably hurting as much as we did today. But with that being said, guys, two pretty good teams playing, and there wasn’t a nickel’s worth of difference between us, and we didn’t have KJ (Adams), so there was some good to it, too.”

In moving to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play, Kansas, in losing to Houston, was led by Flory Bidunga (19), Hunter Dickinson (17), Rylan Griffen (17), and Zeke Mayo (16).

Dajuan Harris added eight points, five rebounds, 12 assists to just one turnover and two steals, while Shakeel Moore added seven points, and David Coit chipped in two points.

Aside from scoring a career-high 19 points, Bidunga also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out two assists, and was credited with one steal.

Self, late on Saturday night, was asked about the performance of Flory Bidunga.

“I thought Flory did well,” he said. “He just gets tired, but I thought he did well, and he made his free throws at a pretty good clip for Flo. But our five guys that started, I thought, and when Rylan (Griffen) came in, even though Rylan didn’t do a lot of things, but if he’s open, he just shot it and made it today, which was great, which was the equivalent of what Wilson did for them. But when Flo or Hunt came out of the game, we had no offense.

“The ball just stops,” he added. “I mean, it just stops, and that’s when you got to rely on others, and you got to move it and everything. And so that was very disappointing that we didn’t help or cover for Flory and Hunt when they weren’t in the game because we became very stale and stagnant. But Flow was good. He was good. He got some touches around the rim, but you got to understand something. The reason why he got a lot of those points is because Hunter drew a lot of attention.”