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By: Joshua Gak, Isabelle Lam, Ruby Yeh, and Shane Sekuler
Out of all racial demographics in the United States, Asians have been reported to have the highest rate of tuberculosis for decades—Asian immigrants especially. Making up only about 6% of the U.S. population, they somehow account for about 34% of all American tuberculosis cases. This is a shocking disparity between Asians' percentage of the American population and the percentage of diagnosed cases in America. Why is this the case? In this project, we will be examining the socioeconomic factors that might have an impact on the rate of Asian cases of tuberculosis in the United States (specifically in California and New York).
Tuberculosis (TB), a fatal respiratory disease, can be traced back in humans to 9,000 years ago in Atlit Yam, a present-day submerged city off the coast of Israel. Fast forward to the 19th century and the first official recorded case of TB was recorded in New York City in 1893. In 2020, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported a total of 8,916 reported active cases in the United States.
TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an extremely contagious bacteria that one can get from inhaling infected air from another person. If not properly treated, TB can be extremely dangerous and even fatal, especially to those with underlying health conditions such as HIV/AIDS.
Throughout this website, we have many different sections to describe different aspects of Tuberculosis and how it affects society:
Click to learn about the historical overview of TB and how it came to be such a deadly virus
Click to learn about Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin, the two developers of the BCG Vaccine that is administered shortly after birth to prevent TB
Click to learn about the physical effects of TB and the damage it does to physical aspects of the body
Click to learn about how TB is diagnosed and symptoms that one might have if infected with TB
Click to learn more about experiences and real world data in the U.S. concerning Asian-American rates of Tuberculosis
Click for our sources and references that were used throughout the project
Click to meet the team!
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