ATLANTA, March 23 (UPI) -- In 2011, 10,521 new tuberculosis cases were reported in the United States, the lowest number since national reporting began in 1953, health officials said.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Tuberculosis Surveillance System showed in 2011, the United States had an TB incidence of 3.4 cases per 100,000 population -- 6.4 percent lower than the rate in 2010.
Among states, the TB rates ranged widely, from 0.7 in Maine to 9.3 in Alaska. Thirty-four states had lower rates in 2011 than in 2010 while 16 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates.
As in 2010, California, Florida, New York and Texas accounted for 5,299 TB cases or nearly 50 percent of TB cases reported in 2011, the report said.
The 17.3 per 100,000 population TB rate among foreign-born persons was a 4.8 percent decrease from 2010 and a 49 percent decrease from 1993.
In 2011, 54.1 percent of foreign-born persons with TB originated from five countries: 21 percent from Mexico, 11.5 percent from the Philippines, 8.2 percent from Vietnam, 7.6 percent from India and 5.6 percent from China.
The findings were published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
