Between 1986 and 1990, the number of new verified tuberculosis cases increased at an average rate of 7.8 percent per year, after implementation of a new, stricter case definition in 1985 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1991 and 1992, the number of cases stabilized and in 1993 began to decline (Figure C3). The number of cases declined to 718 in 1997. The number of verified cases reported in 1997 decreased from the 1996 level by 102 cases, a 12.4 percent decline. The 1997 incidence represents a 27.0 percent decline from the highest incidence reached in the past decade (984 cases in 1992) (Communicable Disease Service, 1999a).

Total cases of tuberculosis include verified cases plus any additional cases which do not meet the revised, stricter CDC definition. In 1997, there were a total of 1,055 diagnosed cases, a decrease of 36 cases from the 1996 incidence (Table C4). There were 32 deaths from tuberculosis in 1997, also a decline from the 42 tuberculosis deaths reported in 1996. The death rate fell from 0.5 to 0.4 deaths per 100,000 population.

Persons aged 25 through 54 accounted for over half (54.9%) of all verified cases of tuberculosis in 1997 (Table C10). Slightly less than 60 percent of verified cases were male (58.9%) and over one-third were black (37.9%). The modal age group for black males and females with verified tuberculosis diagnosed in 1997 was 35 through 44 years (31.2% and 22.0% of cases, respectively). For white males and females, the most frequent age at diagnosis was 65 years and over (25.4% and 26.9%, respectively).

Every county but Warren reported verified cases of tuberculosis in 1997 (Table C11), although three other counties reported fewer than five cases (Hunterdon, Cape May, and Salem). There was little or no change in the number of verified and total cases of tuberculosis by county between 1996 and 1997. Essex County experienced a decline of 20 verified cases, Hudson had 37 fewer verified cases, and Passaic had 22 fewer cases than in 1996. The number of total cases in Middlesex County was 20 greater in 1997 than in 1996. Five counties (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Passaic) together accounted for nearly two-thirds of the verified cases in 1997 (64.1%). Essex County had the highest rate of verified tuberculosis cases in 1997 (21.0 per 100,000 residents). There were 11 verified cases of tuberculosis among transients and 22 in residents of institutions. The figure for transients is the same as in 1996 and the number among residents of institutions is a decrease from the 1996 level.

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