Health officials say active tuberculosis case in Flathead County is under control

Health officials say that an active tuberculosis case in Flathead County is under control.

The patient had recently moved to Montana and was exposed to active tuberculosis in a different state, said county health officials. They declined to provide other specifics, citing patient privacy.  

“The patient remained in isolation for the required amount of time, received adequate treatment for their illness, and are no longer considered infectious,” Lisa Dennison, Flathead County’s population health manager, wrote in an email last week. 

A county investigation revealed that the individual had minimal close contacts, all of which were contacted by the Health Department and received follow-up care.  

“At this time, there is no further risk to the public,” Dennison said.  

Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that primarily affects a patient’s lungs, is a reportable disease per the state’s administrative rules. If a patient is diagnosed with tuberculosis, their medical provider will report that to the county to conduct a case investigation. 

Officials previously discussed the case at a Nov. 21 meeting of the Flathead City-County Board of Health.  

As of November, the department had 24 reported cases of tuberculosis in 2024 – 23 latent cases and 1 active case. Individuals with latent tuberculosis are symptom-free and can’t spread the disease.  

Doctors and county officials see tuberculosis cases, while not overly common, nearly every year. Trends had been decreasing up to 2020, according to 2021 data from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the most recent available.  

That year, the state saw three individuals with active tuberculosis and the rate of disease was 0.3 cases per 100,000 people.  

While the state lacks updated tuberculosis figures for years after 2021, the county Health Board reported 14 latent cases and no active cases in 2022.  

Tuberculosis rates have increased nationwide since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the first year of the pandemic, cases decreased by 19.4%. But case counts and incidence rates have increased since 2021. 

In 2023, case counts exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to the federal health agency. 

In October of this year, the World Health Organizaton published a report finding that about 8.2 million people were diagnosed with some form of tuberculosis across the globe, the highest number recorded since the organization began monitoring the disease in 1995.  

Tuberculosis can be spread by breathing in bacteria from a person with the active disease, but depending on a person’s immune system and other factors they may only develop latent tuberculosis.  

When properly treated, some individuals with latent tuberculosis can go their whole lives with no problems from the disease, Dennison said. In up to 15% of tuberculosis cases, latent tuberculosis does turn active.  

“Luckily, with proper treatment, tuberculosis is both curable and preventable,” Dennison said in the email.  

Treatment for tuberculosis takes months, and the Flathead County patient continues to receive care for the disease.  

“They are currently going through the recommended treatment for tuberculosis which, for active TB, is about six to nine months,” Dennison said at the November Health Board meeting. 

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com.