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HomeMy WebLinkAbouttb-factsheet-2025-remediatedFigure 2. Percent of TB Cases, by Place of Birth, Alameda County, 2025 Tuberculosis in Alameda County, 2025 Background During 2025, 122 tuberculosis (TB) cases were reported to Alameda County (excluding the City of Berkeley, which has its own local health department). The 2025 TB case rate in Alameda County was 7.9 cases per 100,000 residents. The 2025 rate ranks fourth among all jurisdictions in California and is 1.4x times higher than the California state rate (5.4 per 100,000) and 2.6 times higher than the national rate (3.0 per 100,000). The 2025 rate for Alameda County is higher than some other Bay Area counties, including San Mateo (6.8 per 100,000) and Contra Costa (4.5 per 100,000) counties; however, the 2025 rate is lower than Santa Clara (8.4 per 100,000) and San Francisco (9.3 per 100,000) counties. Figure 1. Number of TB Cases and Rate per 100,000, Alameda County, 2016-2025 Demographics of TB Cases, 2025 Similar to previous years, the majority of TB cases were male (59%). During 2025, the largest proportion of TB cases occurred among adults aged 65 years old and older (44%). The majority (2/3) of TB cases occurred among Asian residents, and 1/5 of TB cases occurred among Hispanic/Latino/a/x/e residents (Table 1). Ninety-five percent of cases were born outside the U.S. (Figure 2). Of the 2025 cases born outside of the U.S., 59% resided in the U.S. for ten or more years before being diagnosed with TB, and 73% resided in the U.S. for five or more years before diagnosis. The largest proportions of 2025 TB cases occurred among residents of Oakland (30%), Fremont (22%), and Hayward (11%) (Figure 3). Fifty five percent of the TB patients lived in zip codes that were in the two lower quartiles of the Healthy Places Index in Alameda County—a measurement in which higher values indicate greater presence of health-promoting social, environmental, and economic factors. Philippines: 22% India: 17% China: 11%Mexico: 10% Vietnam: 7% USA: 5% Other Countries: 28% Philippines India China Mexico Vietnam USA Other Countries 1 Sputum Smear Result Percentage by NAAT Result 100% 53% 0% 29% 18% NAAT Positive NAAT Negative NAAT Not Done Positive (N = 37) Negative (N=51) 0% 50% 100% For questions or additional information, contact: Alameda County Public Health Department Tuberculosis Control Section 1100 San Leandro Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94577 Phone: (510) 667-3096 | Fax: (510) 273-3916 https://health.alamedacountyca.gov/program /tuberculosis-tb/ Last updated March 30th, 2026 77% 9.6% 48% Tuberculosis in Alameda County, 2025 Figure 3. Average Annual TB Rates per 100,000, by Zip Code, Alameda County, 2021-2025 Clinical Characteristics Of all 2025 TB cases, 77% had pulmonary involvement and 23% were extrapulmonary only (Table 2). Of all pulmonary cases, 40% were acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear-positive and 64% had evidence of cavitary disease on chest radiography. Risk Factors Almost half (48%) of TB patients had a comorbidity, as seen in Table 2. Eight (7%) were HIV positive. Ninety-five patients (78%) reported having a usual source of care in the past two years, which was defined as a place where the patient usually went when sick or needing health advice. 27% of patients reported being current or former smokers. Drug Resistance A smaller proportion of drug-resistant isolates were identified among culture-positive cases in 2025 than 2024 (9.6% and 12%, respectively). During 2025, two cases were multidrug resistant TB (Table 2). Six cases were mono- resistant to Isoniazid, and one case was mono- resistant to Pyrazinamide. Diagnostic Testing Among 2025 TB cases with any pulmonary disease that had a sputum smear performed, 90% received a nucleic acid amplification (NAA) test at diagnosis, 5% less than in 2024. More cases with positive sputum AFB smears received NAA tests compared to patients with negative sputum AFB smears (Figure 4). Figure 4. NAAT Results by Sputum Smear Summary TB remains an important public health problem in Alameda County. While the case rate reported in 2025 was similar to the 2024 case rate, Alameda County remains a high-TB-burden county with a rate 2.5x higher than the national average. Reports have indicated that 80%-86% of all TB cases are due to LTBI reactivation, and 78% of Alameda County TB patients reported engaging with a usual source of care. Therefore, it is important for providers to screen for and treat LTBI to prevent the reactivation and spread of TB. Alameda County TB Control continues to encourage early diagnosis through the use of NAA tests regardless of sputum smear results, as this practice may facilitate earlier TB treatment initiation and reduce disease transmission. 2 Tuberculosis in Alameda County, 2025 Table 1. Demographics of TB Cases, 2025 Demographic Category 2025 Case Counts Percent Rate per 100,000 Sex at Birth Male 72 59%9.2 Female 50 41%6.4 Age 0-14 yrs < 10 --* 15-24 yrs 12 9.8%6.2 25-44 yrs 30 24.6%6.4 45-64 yrs 22 18%6.3 65-74 yrs 22 18%17.6 75+ yrs 32 26.2%28.2 Race/Ethnicity American Indian/Alaska Native 0 0%* Middle Eastern or North African 0 0%* Pacific Islander < 10 --* Multiracial < 10 --* White < 10 --* African American/Black < 10 --* Hispanic/Latino/a/x/e 25 20.5%6.8 Asian 81 66.4%14.7 Detailed Asian Race N = 81 Filipino 28 34.6%-- Asian Indian 22 27.2%-- Chinese 15 18.5%-- Other Asian**16 19.80%-- Place of Birth United States < 10 4.9%* Outside United States 116 95.1%20.5 * Categories with <10 average annual cases have unstable rates and are not presented **Includes Vietnamese, Burmese, Korean, Cambodian, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Multiracial 3 Tuberculosis in Alameda County, 2025 Table 2. Clinical Characteristics of TB Cases, 2025 Clinical Characteristic Category 2025 Case Counts Percent Site of Disease Non-Pulmonary Only 28 23% Pulmonary + Other 9 7.4% Pulmonary Only 85 69.7% Pulmonary Disease Characteristics (n = 95) Sputum Smear Positive 37 39.4% Sputum Smear Negative 51 54.3% Sputum Smear Not Done 6 6.4% Cavitary Disease Absent*60 63.8% Cavitary Disease Present*34 36.2% Comorbidities HIV/AIDS 8 6.6% Diabetes 32 26.0% End-stage renal disease 9 7.4% Other immunosuppression**4 3.3% Hepatitis B 6 4.9% No TB-related Comorbidities***64 52.5% Other Risk Factors Usual Source of Care 95 77.9% Current or former smoker 33 27.0% Drug resistance among culture positive cases (N= 94) Resistance to any TB medications 9 9.6% Resistance to INH only 6 6.4% Resistance to PZA only 1 1.1% Resistance to RIF Only 0 0% Multidrug Resistance 2 2.1% * Per X-ray, CT, or other chest imaging; ** Due to a medical condition, such as hematologic or reticuloendothelial malignancies or immunosuppressive therapy, such as prolonged use of high-dose adrenocorticosteroids; ***TB-related comorbidities include those listed in the table in addition to Hepatitis C, organ transplant, and being a TNF antagonist recipient; ****pncA mutation testing was conducted on 40 cases, one case had a mutation detected 4