March 24, 2025: World Tuberculosis Day

WHEREAS, tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In 2023 it was reported that 9,633 people in the United States were diagnosed with TB, and Michigan reported 149 people diagnosed with TB; and,

WHEREAS, in 2023, 1,440 people in Michigan were known to have been exposed to TB and 63 people were infected with TB as a result of exposure; and,

WHEREAS, in 2023 the U.S., experienced a nationwide outbreak of TB, which was linked to contaminated bone allograft material, two Michigan residents developed TB directly because of surgeries using the contaminated material and one resident died; and,

WHEREAS, in 2024 the bipartisan Shandra Eisenga Human Cell and Tissue Product Safety Act was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives. It later passed with bipartisan support commemorating the death of Shandra Eisenga from TB acquired during surgery with contaminated bone allograft material, and preventing the spread of tuberculosis in human cell and tissue products; and,

WHEREAS, from fall 2023 through fall 2024, Michigan reported five people with multidrug-resistant TB, the largest number of people with multidrug-resistant TB identified in Michigan within a 12-month period; and,

WHEREAS, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Tuberculosis and Body Art Licensure Unit provided more than $113,000 of direct support to 89 people and their families affected by TB; and,

WHEREAS, TB primarily affects the lungs, but it can affect any part of the body, including the spine, brain, eye or kidneys; and,

WHEREAS, the main symptoms of TB include feeling weak or sick, unintentional weight loss, fever, and night sweats, and if the TB bacteria are in the lungs, the symptoms include cough, chest pain and coughing up blood; and,

WHEREAS, TB is primarily spread when someone with TB disease in their lungs spreads the bacteria into the air by coughing, speaking or singing, and the TB bacteria are breathed in by other people nearby; and,

WHEREAS, World Tuberculosis Day is held each March 24 to commemorate the date in 1882 that Dr. Robert Koch announced he had discovered the bacteria that causes TB; his discovery made future work possible to diagnose and cure TB; and,

WHEREAS, both TB infection and TB disease are treatable and curable with antibiotics; and,

WHEREAS, this March, we join with MDHHS to raise awareness of tuberculosis and the importance of diagnosing and treating TB disease and infection;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim March 24, 2025, as World Tuberculosis Day.