After Decline, TB Cases Up 21% in ’97
After a steady decline in recent years, the number of tuberculosis cases in Orange County rose nearly 21% last year, health officials said Friday.
Figures released by the American Lung Assn. show 330 cases were reported during 1997, up from 273 in 1996.
In 1993, tuberculosis cases peaked in Orange County, with 431 cases reported. That was the year 17 students at La Quinta High School in Westminster were diagnosed with active cases of the disease, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Westminster remained one of the hardest-hit cities in Orange County last year, with 41 reported cases. Santa Ana had the most cases, 85, and Anaheim and Garden Grove each reported 47 cases.
A communicable disease, tuberculosis tends to affect entire communities. It can only be contracted through prolonged exposure.
More than 58% of those with reported cases last year were Asian, and 30.6% were Latino. About 11% were white.
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