Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a Rural Community, Arkansas, 1945–2000

Abstract

A cluster of tuberculosis cases in a rural community in Arkansas persisted from 1991 to 1999. The cluster had 13 members, 11 linked epidemiologically. Old records identified 24 additional patients for 40 linked case-patients during a 54-year period. Residents of this neighborhood represent a population at high risk who should be considered for tuberculin testing and treatment for latent tuberculosis infection.

Keywords

• tuberculosis
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• endemic
• molecular epidemiology
• DNA fingerprinting
• genotyping