Toward a generation free of tuberculosis: TB disease and infection in individuals of college age in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the magnitude of active TB disease and latent TB infection (LTBI) in young adults of college age.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who were aged 18-24 years in 2011 were used as a proxy for college students.

METHODS: Active TB cases reported to the 2011 US National TB Surveillance System (NTSS) were included. LTBI prevalence was calculated from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The 2011 American Community Survey was used to calculate population denominators. Analyses were stratified by nativity.

RESULTS: Active TB disease incidence among persons aged 18-24 years was 2.82/100,000, 18.8/100,000 among foreign-born individuals and 0.9/100,000 among US-born individuals. In 2011, 878 TB cases were reported; 629 (71.6%) were foreign-born. LTBI prevalence among persons of 18-24 years was 2.5%: 8.7% and 1.3% among foreign-born and US-born, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Active screening and treatment programs for foreign-born young adults could identify TB cases earlier and provide an opportunity for prevention efforts.