Expert says Super Bowl unlikely to spread tuberculosis after KC outbreak
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An infectious disease that's been spreading for some time, particularly on Kansas City's west side is now getting nationwide attention.
News of a centered in Wyandotte and comes as likely tens of thousands of fans from the region are about to head to the Super Bowl which will be played indoors at New Orleans Caesars Superdome.
Countless more fans will attend Super Bowl parties around the area.
However, medical professionals say there's little reason to be concerned the Super Bowl will be a super spreader. It really comes down to how contagious tuberculosis is compared to other respiratory illnesses and where we seem to be on the outbreak's timeline.
Flu map: These states are now at CDC's highest activity level
Five years ago the Kansas City Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in 50 years and by some accounts may have slowed the spread of COVID-19.
There's debate whether fans who attended the game a month before nationwide shut downs may have already been infected. But many of the earliest confirmed cases during that timeframe were in California.
Instead of celebration in San Francisco, it was in Kansas City where hundreds of thousands crammed in to areas around Union Station for a Super Bowl parade and rally.
Now it's the Kansas City metro, . FOX4 sat down with University of Kansas Hospital Infection Control and Prevention Medical Director Dr. Dana Hawkinson to find out if the game and celebrations pose a risk.
'Things like influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and those common cough and cold viruses they are still at fairly high levels in the United States. You are at significantly more at risk of getting one of those infections than you are tuberculosis,' Hawkinson said.
Provisional numbers say 630 Kansans had latent tuberculosis in 2024, but those are people who don't have symptoms and can't spread it until the disease becomes active without treatment. KDHE data shows the biggest spike of latent cases was in March of last year, while new active cases spiked in June.
Seven cases were listed as active on January 24 in Johnson County. Wednesday Johnson County said all its tuberculosis patients receiving treatment were no longer infectious. At last update, Wyandotte County had 60 active cases.
If you are lucky enough to get Super Bowl tickets or have party plans and develop a cough, Hawkinson says it's no reason to immediately cancel. As always do your best to help reduce the spread of viruses by covering your cough, practicing proper hand hygiene and making sure you are fever-free. But if you truly have active tuberculosis your body has probably already been telling you.
'Those symptoms are prolonged things like cough and bloody cough, which is called hemoptysis, fevers and night sweats. These persist for several weeks to months. So I think that's distinctly different from someone who has cold and cough that may persist for 10 days,' Hawkinson said.
See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri
University of Kansas Hospital has been working with KDHE on contact tracing for months. That's a key way latent cases are discovered.
According to medical professionals, tuberculosis differs greatly from COVID-19, cold or flu as it takes prolonged exposure to someone with active disease to get it, likely not someone coughing next to you, even if it is for a few hours.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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