Tuberculosis (TB) cases in Colorado increased by 32% in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). In 2025, there were 103 confirmed TB cases, up from 78 in 2024. This rise follows a period where TB cases had been declining for about a decade before starting to increase again in 2023.
Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, explained that TB can be difficult to diagnose because its most common symptom—a persistent cough—resembles symptoms of other respiratory illnesses such as flu or COVID-19. “TB investigations require a lot of detective work,” said Barron. “People have this smoker’s cough that can come from a lot of causes, and TB can get missed when people come to an ER or urgent care.”
Barron highlighted several challenges with TB detection and treatment: many infected individuals are unaware they have it; some may become “super spreaders” without knowing; and treatments are lengthy and sometimes hard for patients to access.
The main symptoms associated with TB include a stubborn cough, low-grade fever, night sweats, coughing up blood, and unintentional weight loss. Chest X-rays may reveal cavitary lesions in the lungs. “It looks like a walled-off area of your lungs,” Barron noted.
Despite its dangers, TB is curable with antibiotics taken over six months to a year. “Yes. This is a curable disease. But it requires very long treatments,” Barron said.
Globally, tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases, killing more than 4,300 people daily and affecting over 10 million people each year.
In Colorado specifically, CDPHE data shows that cases declined between 2020 (52 cases), 2021 (58), and 2022 (57), before rising sharply in subsequent years: there were 89 confirmed cases in 2023—with at least two deaths—and then numbers dropped slightly in 2024 before jumping again last year.
A report from CDPHE attributes the recent increase partly to improved detection methods as well as increased immigration from countries where TB is prevalent.
Groups at highest risk for contracting TB include ethnic and racial minorities—88% of new patients identified as such in CDPHE’s recent report—as well as individuals diagnosed with diabetes or those born in countries with high rates of infection. Homelessness also increases risk.
“Among new patients with TB [in Colorado], about 40% were Hispanic and 21% were Asian; another 11% were white and 10% Black,” according to state health data. Diabetes was found among nearly one-fifth of new patients.
Worldwide, regions including Mexico, South America, Africa, East Asia, Russia, and India experience higher rates of endemic tuberculosis.
Regarding age distribution within Colorado’s recent cases: infections ranged from infants through seniors aged up to eighty-two years old; however, most occurred among adults aged twenty-five to forty-four. Health officials note that pediatric cases are especially concerning because they indicate ongoing community transmission.
TB spreads through airborne particles when an infected person coughs or sneezes; others can contract it by inhaling these bacteria-laden droplets even after the original carrier has left an enclosed space.
While there is a vaccine for tuberculosis—the BCG vaccine—it is not highly effective according to Dr. Barron.
Testing typically involves blood tests or examining sputum samples under a microscope for distinctive mycobacteria known as “red snappers.” If exposed but not treated promptly during latent infection stages—when no symptoms are present—a person risks developing active disease later on.
Most U.S.-born residents face low risk unless their occupation or travel history puts them at higher exposure levels—for example healthcare workers or individuals who have lived abroad where TB rates are higher—or if they spend time living or working within crowded environments like jails or shelters.
“If you’re from a country where rates of tuberculosis in the community are high,” said Barron,“you should be aware of potential exposures.”
Those who suspect possible exposure should seek testing immediately since early intervention with medication during latent stages can prevent future illness.“Anybody who had a persistent cough that hasn’t gone away for months and who has experienced weight loss or night sweats should be tested,” she advised.”It doesn’t mean you’ll have TB,but it’s worth getting tested.TB is rare,but it’s progressive,and treatable.”
Historically,Tuberculosis played an important role shaping migration patterns into Colorado.In the late nineteenth century,promoters advertised fresh air,mountain climate,and rest as therapies,drawing thousands seeking relief when little effective treatment existed.Today,sanatoriums remain part of local history though modern medicine relies on drug therapy rather than environmental cures.
